


Year 3 - Growing Pains

by Casazael



Series: The Dwarf Who Lived [3]
Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling, The Hobbit - All Media Types, The Lord of the Rings - All Media Types
Genre: F/M, Gen, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-25
Updated: 2020-09-13
Packaged: 2021-03-05 19:34:08
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 16
Words: 84,277
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25500685
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Casazael/pseuds/Casazael
Summary: For most of the teenagers, being 14 means only one thing: puberty (and hormones but we don't talk about that :). Kíli Durin, however, is not every teenager. Besides some teenage crush, he's still got magic to learn and evil to fight.
Series: The Dwarf Who Lived [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1680766
Comments: 47
Kudos: 26





	1. Chapter 1

_ He was outside the house again, the same dark night in the dead silence. He knew what was about to happen and how much he abhorred it but he simply could not get himself out of this recurring nightmare. Every step that he took only got him closer to the sad truth yet he had no control over his body. All he could do was to wait, his heart pumping, until he opened the door to that room and… _

Kíli woke up with a start and was not surprised to find himself drenched in sweat again. Fumbling on his nightstand, he squinted his eyes and saw the 2:36 am on the clock. He had been inside that same nightmare again.

The beginning of the summer holiday this year was quite unusual for Kíli, which unfortunately was not a nice change. Ever since he returned from Hogwarts to the orphanage, he had been plagued by the nightmares, always the same one where he was about to discover the death of his parents. He had tried so many different ways to rid himself of this nightly torture, exercise during the day, herbal tea at night, soothing music before bed, but to no avail. The dream simply meant too much for his mind to forget. The only thing that had helped in the past was Fíli’s presence, which was unattainable at the moment. Kíli, therefore, found himself frequently counting the days until he could go and visit Fíli in Erebor.

Just two days after his return to the orphanage, Kíli received a letter delivered by Keeper. Fíli had confirmed that Dís was more than happy to receive Kíli in Erebor in a fortnight and would come to collect Kíli herself. It was thanks to this letter that Kíli managed to stay sane during his first two weeks despite his nightly ordeal. He lost no time in presenting this to Madam McGonagall, who did not appear at all surprised by the invitation.

“It is probably for the best,” said Madam McGonagall as she handed the letter back to him, “you’ll be happier and safer there.”

Kíli hesitated. It was not until the matron of the orphanage was almost out of the room that he asked, tentatively, “did you know what happened to my parents? Did Professor Gandalf or Professor Dwalin tell you?”

Madam McGonagall stopped on her track, her hand on the doorframe. Turning slowly around, she gave Kíli a sad smile. “No, they haven’t. I’m just a Muggle, remember? Mister Gandalf will never tell me something like that unless it’s absolutely necessary. I only know that there was a war going on and both of your parents died because of that, leaving you an orphan. Mister Gandalf thought it’d be safer for you to grow up away from the Wizarding world so he came to me. It’s not the first time we’ve had a magical orphan and we owe Mister Gandalf a great deal. So we agreed to look after you and protect you, as much as we can.”

“You’ve done a wonderful job,” said Kíli, his voice thick as he was suddenly overcome with emotion. “My life could have been a lot worse without you.”

“I’m so sorry, my boy,” Madam McGonagall seemed equally affected as Kíli could see the corner of her eyes glistening. “From what Mister Gandalf told me last week, you have suffered an awful lot. But I know you’ll manage because you always do and you always come out stronger. Just take care of yourself, will you?”

When the time for Dís to pick him up had come, Kíli simply could not wait. The lack of sleep was taking its toll but he managed to pack everything and stay awake purely on adrenaline. 

“Oh, my dear boy,” cried Dís when she walked in through the door and saw Kíli. Before Kíli could say anything, he found himself tightly in the arms of Dís. His senses surrounded by the smell of honey and lime of Dís, Kíli had to fight back his tears because he imagined it must be how it felt to be with one’s own mother. Dís seemed to sense his emotions just like Fíli always did for she kissed the top of his head gently. “Come on, time to take you home.”

Once Kíli had bid everyone at the orphanage goodbye, Dís took his hand into her own and led him out of the front door. They soon started walking, which was not what Kíli was expecting. “Are we going to Erebor the Muggle way?” 

“Oh, no,” said Dís with a smile, “we just need to get outside the perimeter of the orphanage because Gandalf has placed many protective spells on this area himself so nobody can Apparate in and out directly.”

“Really?” Kíli was surprised. He knew that Gandalf talked to Madam McGonagall about his protection but he never expected the Headmaster to execute it himself.

“Of course. He takes your safety very seriously. We all do. Here.” She stopped Kíli who felt the difference in the air surrounding him as if he had just walked past an invisible watery shield. Although Kíli would have loved to ask Dís more about the protective spells, he could tell Dís was getting ready and slightly anxious for the Apparation, if the furtive glances she kept casting around her was anything to do by. “Have you done Side-Along Apparation before?”

“No,” Kíli shook his head and frankly, from what he had heard, he was not looking forward to the experience. He doubted now was the right time to voice his hesitation so he simply put on a brave face and smiled, “I’m sure it’ll be fine though, Mrs Arken.”

“Excellent,” smiled Dís and she grabbed Kíli’s hand even tighter, “just hold on to me.”

Before Kíli had time to prepare himself, everything went black and all he could feel was the horrible squeezing sensation so strong and tight that he could hardly breathe. In fact, Kíli felt that every part of him protruding out was being pushed into his body. It was hard not to panic but thankfully it was over soon.

“Kíli!” Fíli’s excited voice was the first to greet him. Kíli wished he could return the greeting but he had a much more pressing matter at the moment.

“HUUUURGGEHH…”

“I’ve told you,” laughed Fíli, which was not helping under the circumstances, “everybody gets sick after their first Side-Along.”

“Don’t be mean, Fíli,” chided Dís mildly. “Oh, my poor boy, let me get you a cup of tea. I’m sure it will settle your stomach.” With a quick wave of the wand, Dís vanished the pile of sick before heading out. Fíli was still sniggering as he came to help Kíli up. Had he not been so sick and exhausted, Kíli would have paid Fíli back. Under the current circumstances, however, he had to settle for simply flipping Fíli the bird.

“Do you want to lie down?” asked Fíli as he hauled Kíli onto the lush sofa in the sitting room of their chambers of Erebor. “Or do you just want to sit down and drink some tea?”

“Tea’s good,” mumbled Kíli. “I guess some food won’t hurt either.”

“We’ve got them all,” Fíli’s smile disappeared when he took in Kíli’s appearance. “Kíli, what’s happened? Have you been sleeping at all?”

“Not really,” sighed Kíli. The sofa smelled like Fíli, which made him feel so relaxed that he felt his eyelids getting heavy. “I haven’t sle…” he had to fight back a big yawn, “slept well for the past tw…” another one, “two weeks.”

“Then that’s the first thing you’ll do here.” Dís had come back with a hot cup of tea with some warm toast, which looked heavenly to Kíli’s hunger and his exhausted mind. “Drink and eat. Fíli will show you to your room.”

The look Kíli gave Fíli was enough for his friend to know what his concern was. “You can sleep in my room,” said Fíli with a smile. “You’ll still get your room but it’s up to you where you sleep.”

Thirty minutes later, Kíli found himself inside Fíli’s room, eyeing the large four-poster bed with longing. He knew that he’d sleep better with Fíli next to him but that was almost too much to ask.

“What are you waiting for?” asked Fíli as he climbed onto the bed. “Come on, you look absolutely knackered. If you sleep now, you’ll get a solid couple of hours of sleep before lunch.”

“But are you…”

“I’m not tired so I won’t be sleeping,” smiled Fíli. “I’ll just lie in bed and do some reading.”

“Oh,” Kíli knew his response was lacklustre but he simply did not know how to put his feelings into words. So he opted for a more physical response as he climbed onto the bed and cuddled next to Fíli, who seemed to understand Kíli’s wordless reply. Smiling at Kíli, Fíli looped one arm around Kíli before picking up his book and started to read. Savouring the moment of tranquillity, Kíli closed his eyes and was soon lured into sleep by Fíli’s steady heartbeat.

Minutes later, or so it seemed, Kíli felt someone gently shaking him awake. Opening his eyes groggily, he saw Fíli’s beaming face. “Time for lunch, sleeping beauty. Rise and shine.”

Truth be told, Kíli would have loved to sleep a bit longer. His growling stomach, however, clearly had other opinions. Sighing, he dragged himself out of bed reluctantly and looked into the lavishly-decorated mirror in Fíli’s room, attempting to make himself presentable.

“Don’t worry about it,” Fíli laughed as he watched Kíli wrestle with his nest of hair. “It’s just us and mum. Come on, let’s go before the food turns cold.”

Even though there were just three of them, the lunch was not only abundant but also scrumptious. Dís appeared determined to compensate for Kíli’s loss of weight during the first couple of weeks of summer holidays in this single meal. She piled so much food on to Kíli’s plate that he was having trouble clearing them.

“Do eat up, my boy,” said Dís as she added another big chunk of pork chop to Kíli’s teetering pile of food. “You look a bit peaky. Look at your clothes. You can barely fill them up.”

“Don’t baby him, mum,” Fíli laughed and he stole a piece of sausage from Kíli’s plate. “You’re going to stuff him to death.”

“Hmm,” snorted Dís, “Kíli’s a healthy young Dwarf. I’m sure he can eat it all.”

Unfortunately, this was only partially true. Kíli knew that he had a healthy appetite compared to other boys in his orphanage thanks to his Dwarf blood but he could never dream to rival Gimli, Fíli, or even Ori in terms of food consumption. “Thank you, Mrs Arken. But really, that’s enough.”

“Just one more,” Dís added another piece of beef stew. “You need to fill out more, my dear. You’ll be such a handsome Dwarf lad after you put on some weight.”

“Kíli looks perfect the way he is,” Fíli’s loud and firm statement made Kíli blush while Dís smirked knowingly. “Of course. Well, I’m sure you’ll gain some good muscles when the summer is over.”

Dís’s prediction was certainly coming true as Kíli had never felt better and happier. A week into his stay in Erebor, Kíli had already gained back the weight he had lost during his stay in the orphanage thanks both to the delicious food in Erebor and to his much-improved sleep. Every night, he’d sneak into Fíli’s room so he could cuddle up with his best friend, which had done wonders. Fíli’s calming presence had kept the nightmares mostly at bay. Even in the occasional cases where the nightmares decided to resurface, Fíli would always wake Kíli up before the worst part and coax him back to sleep without too much difficulty.

“I feel like I’ve done nothing but eat and sleep this past week,” Kíli complained jokingly during their usual chess match after dinner one day.

“You needed time to recuperate and we’ve got plenty of time for things like homework,” said Fíli absent-mindedly, his fingertips touching to form a steeple and his eyes scanning the chessboard. After careful deliberation, he finally smiled and moved his Queen forward so she knocked Kíli’s bishop out viciously. Kíli scowled. “If you want, I can ask Professor Dwalin to stop by and teach us some more duelling whenever he has time.”

Kíli perked up immediately. “Absolutely. Speaking of Professor Dwalin, is he staying at Hogwarts over the summer? How about your uncle? I haven’t seen him since I arrived here.”

This finally got Fíli’s attention. Looking around carefully to make sure that Dís was nowhere to be seen, he scooted closer to Kíli and whispered, “both of them are busy at the moment. As a matter of fact, I believe they’re travelling all over the country right now.”

“Where are they visiting?” Kíli asked in an equally small voice.

“Mum wouldn’t tell me,” said Fíli with a frown. “All she said was that it has something to do with the Arkenstone. I think they’ve gone to other Dwarf settlements to see if they may know anything more about its whereabouts.”

“So it’s definitely not in Hogwarts?”

“The thing is, we don’t know,” Fíli threw himself back to his chair in frustration. “Uncle and Dwalin spent a good week or so searching everywhere they know in Hogwarts after the end of the last term. They couldn’t do it when we were there during the school year. They haven’t found anything but you know Hogwarts. It’s full of secrets. Look at the Chamber of Secrets. Nobody except a few knows its location for such a long time. So who knows. Maybe it is hidden in some secret room in Hogwarts. But at this point, there’s nowhere else for them to search in Hogwarts so they’ve decided to look elsewhere.”

“But, would it be so bad if the Arkenstone is not found?” Kíli guessed he still did not comprehend the importance of a precious stone, despite all the legendary tales surrounding it. “It has been lost for so long, hasn’t it? Why all this obsession now?”

“Because there have been some concerning movements in the past several months.” Fíli sat back up, his brows knitted together, the chess match completely abandoned now. “Nothing serious has occurred but to someone like uncle, those incidents still warrant his attention.”

“What kind of incidents?”

“There are more attacks on Dwarves than normal. The more worrying part is that none of those incidents has been resolved. Elves and Men have seen similar problems but to a much smaller scale. There are also more burglary attempts, whether successful or not, into Dwarf homes and properties. Even Muggle crime rates have increased, which baffled Muggle Aurors but our Aurors have confirmed that quite a few of those attacks are committed by wizards. This has not happened since the end of the Last Wizarding War.”

This had certainly put a damper on Kíli’s good mood. Wizarding politics was never something he paid particular attention to since other things such as Quidditch, Wizard’s Chess, and homework tended to take priorities. Now that he came to think of it, maybe he should follow Fíli’s lead and start to read newspapers like the Daily Prophet to keep himself up to date. From what he could see, the peace that they were enjoying at the moment was only temporary.

“Is Professor Thorin concerned?” Kíli asked. 

Fíli looked uncertain. “I don’t know. Uncle doesn’t talk much about such things in front of me. I only know this much from mum. I don’t think he wants to distract me from school. There’s little we can do now, anyway. All we can do now is to prepare ourselves for all sorts of eventualities.”

“So when can we start working with Professor Dwalin again?” Kíli was feeling both anxious and excited. Knowing what could be lurking out there only fuelled his determination to work hard and fight against the Dark side. He did not want anyone else to suffer what he and his parents had gone through if he could help it.

“I don’t know for sure but I reckon it can’t be for too long,” said Fíli. “They need to return to Hogwarts soon so they can prepare for the new school year and start visiting the new students from Muggle background.”

\--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Sure enough, Kíli only had to wait for a couple more days before he saw his two professors. They were having a private yet still lavish dinner when the fireplace suddenly came to life with green flames. Gasping softly, Dís rose from her seat and whipped out her wand so quickly that Kíli nearly missed her doing it. It soon proved unnecessary as the first visitor was none other than Thorin.

“Thank Mahal, Thorin!” Dís cried as she lowered her wand and rushed forward to greet her brother. “I didn’t know to expect you today.”

“Our business finished early,” said Dwalin, who had just stepped out of the flame, bringing soot with him onto the lavish carpet. “We thought we’d catch you at dinner before we go to Hogwarts tomorrow.”

“Of course, there’s plenty of food and let me ring the kitchen now.” With a wave of her wand, Dís vanished the soot in the blink of an eye before leaving the room to ensure that two hungry Dwarves would be fed, which was no small feat.

“Kíli!” Dwalin’s warm greeting brought a radiant smile to Kíli’s face. He had never been so glad to see his Defence Against the Dark Arts professor before. Jumping out of his seat, Kíli practically ran towards Dwalin before throwing himself into the older Dwarf’s welcoming arms. “Dear me, yeh’ve grown quite a few inches, haven’t yeh, laddie?”

Standing up even taller, Kíli beamed proudly at Dwalin. Even though he knew that Dwarves pride themselves more on their weight and strength rather than their height, he could not help but subscribe to Men’s taste of beauty and wish he was taller. He was still short by Men’s standard but he had already surpassed Fíli and all other Dwarves his age in terms of height. The same, however, could not be said about his build. He was positively willowy in the eyes of any self-respecting Dwarf but Kíli did not mind that, not anymore. He knew he could hardly be considered handsome by Dwarf girls but his lithe build gave him great speed and flexibility, something he had used to its fullest advantage in both Quidditch and duelling.

“Good evening, Kíli.” Thorin extended his hand formally to Kíli, which was not exactly surprising. The de facto leader of the Dwarves looked exhausted and solemn but his handshake was still firm and his tone was not unkind nor insincere. Kíli noticed that compared to the same time last year, Thorin’s posture appeared much less rigid in front of him. He no longer eyed Kíli with mistrust or disapproval, which spoke volumes of their much-improved relationship. Thus Kíli felt entirely justified to give Thorin an equally radiant smile and was exhilarated to see that it brought a rare smile to Thorin’s face.

“How was yer summer?” asked Dwalin after he and Thorin had settled down into the table.

Kíli shrugged. Even though he hated lying to Dwalin, of all people, he could hardly tell Dwalin what exactly had troubled him without divulging more details about how he acquired that information in the first place. Besides, if Thorin was haunted by the mere mention of the memory, Dwalin, who according to Thorin could not sleep for days after witnessing the tragedy, would certainly suffer, which was not Kíli’s wish at all. So he simply settled for the half-truth. “It’s alright. A bit boring because I couldn’t do any magic but everything’s fine after I arrived here. I can’t wait to do more magic.” Looking hopefully at Dwalin, with his most effective puppy eye, Kíli asked, “can we resume our duelling lessons during the summer, sir?”

“Hmm,” Dwalin looked thoughtful, “I don’t know how much time I’ll have in the next couple of weeks. We haven’t been back to Hogwarts yet but I reckon Gandalf will have quite a few new first-years for me to visit. I’ll stop by whenever I can.”

“We can start preparing for next year’s classes in the meantime,” said Fíli encouragingly when Kíli’s shoulders slump in dismay. He turned to Thorin. “When are we going to get our booklist? It’s almost the end of July.”

“I expect you will receive them in the next day or two,” said Thorin. “It will come with your Hogsmeade form too.”

“Hogsmeade is the only all-Wizarding village in Britain,” saidFíli immediately at the perplexed look on Kíli’s face. “Third years and upward are allowed to visit Hogsmeade during certain weekends so they can visit interesting magical shops like Honeydukes, Zonko’s joke shops and just to get out of the castle. They’ve got to have their parents’ or guardian’s approval though. All they need to do is to sign the form, which comes in our mail with the book list for next year.”

The experience Kíli had had with Hogsmeade was limited to journeys to and from Hogsmeade station. He had never explored the village nor did he know that it was the only non-Muggle settlement in Britain. Now that he knew more about the village, he was certainly excited about the prospect of visiting this fascinating village. There was just one problem.

“Does it mean Madam McGonagall from the orphanage needs to sign it?” asked Kíli, feeling anxious. “How can I get back to the orphanage to get her to sign it?”

“Don’t you worry, my dear.” Dís had just returned to the dining room. With a wave of her wand, even more food appeared on the already laden table. While Kíli looked shocked, both Dwalin and Thorin gave Dís an approving look before digging heartily into the feast.

“Anyway,” Dís laughed at the two grown Dwarves’ manners, “I’ll write to Madam McGonagall with the form to explain everything. She can just sign the form and send it back.”

“Thank you so much, Mrs Arken,” said Kíli gratefully but Dís simply waved him off with a smile. “Not at all, my dear. Don’t you worry about anything when you’re here. Everything will be taken care of in Erebor.”

\--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Just as Thorin had predicted, the letter from Hogwarts arrived two days later. Thorin and Dwalin did not return to Erebor the night before, probably due to their enormous workload at Hogwarts. Ripping the envelope open, Kíli noticed that the letter was heavier than before.

“Look at all these new books,” said Fíli excitedly as he scanned through the letter. “I think we still have the textbook for Khuzdûl in the Erebor library. You can just borrow and use it.”

Kíli made a face. Trust Fíli to be all crazy about books. Kíli himself was never that great with languages even when he was in Muggle primary school. He never had the patience or the discipline to memorise all the words and grammar rules. “Sure…”

Fíli looked like he was ready to roll his eyes. “I thought you want to get a head start in Khuzdûl when you can. It’s a very important subject. It will help you in gaining more understanding in not only the Dwarf history but also Dwarven magic.” 

“Yeah, right. Anyway, when are we going to Diagon Alley to get our books and supplies?” asked Kíli, partly to change the topic, partly because he was too excited to get out of Erebor.

“We’ve got time. I’ll sign Fíli’s form and send yours to the orphanage,” said Dís as she took Fíli’s form. “Then we can go to Diagon Alley. We’ll spend the whole day there. You’ve hardly been out of Erebor since your arrival.”

That was true. Kíli was so focused on relaxing and eating everything that he could fit into his stomach that he barely had time for anything else. Now that he was well-rested and fed, he could feel his energy returning, which demanded something more fun and interesting than staying inside Erebor all day. Now that they had received their book list, Kíli could not wait to step into the bustling street of Diagon Alley. The prospect of running into some of his friends only added to the allure.

Two hours later, after breakfast and form logistics were done, Kíli and Fíli had finally managed to get outside Erebor. Dís had already gone to their vaults to get their money for them. Their first stop was Flourish and Blotts, which as usual was packed with Hogwarts students inside, shopping for their textbooks. Kíli was planning to buy all of his books secondhand. He was therefore mostly watching in amusement as the shop assistant tried his best to wrestle the textbook for Care of Magical Creatures, a book appropriately named The Monster Book of Monsters, into Fíli’s shopping bag. So engrossed in this spectacular fun, Kíli almost missed his name being called.

“Oh, hi, Parvati,” Kíli smiled a little awkwardly when he saw that Parvati Patil, a pretty and very popular Gryffindor girl of his year, was waving at him enthusiastically. He had, of course, known Parvati for two years but she had never paid him much attention before. Kíli therefore half expected Parvati to just turn around and resume her business now that they had exchanged greetings. To his great astonishment, the pretty Gryffindor came straight at him and started speaking to him.

“Hi, Kíli! How have you been? Did you have a good summer holiday?”

“Er,” stuttered Kíli. He had no idea why Parvati was suddenly talking to him as if they had been good friends for a long time. The fact that she had a beautiful smile did not help matters at all. “Fine, I think. Er, how’s yours?”

“Mine’s alright,” Parvati beamed at him, flipping her long shiny dark hair confidently. “A bit bored since it’s just me and my sister Padma. Cho stopped by to visit a couple of times, which is so sweet of her.

Kíli was extremely glad to hear that. He was concerned that the Ravenclaw Seeker would not fully recover from the horrific events of the last school year. “That’s great. How’s she holding up?”

Parvati’s smile faltered, which left Kíli utterly puzzled. They were friends, weren’t they? “Oh, she’s fine. But I miss my other friends more.” She gave Kíli a meaningful look. “I can’t wait to go back to Hogwarts though, can you?”

“Er, sure,” said Kíli awkwardly. Thankfully, Fíli had come to his rescue. “Good morning, Parvati. How are you?”

“Oh, hi, Fíli,” Parvati’s smile dimmed slightly, “I’m quite well, thank you.” She turned to Kíli and said, “well, I guess I’ll see you in Hogwarts then.”

“Right,” Kíli waved at Parvati as she disappeared into the crowd, still trying his hardest to process what had just happened.

“Oh, look at you, Kíli,” cried Dís, who had witnessed the entire exchange and could barely contain her smile. “You’re all grown up.”

“What do you mean, Mrs Arken?” Kíli was genuinely confused. Why was everyone acting so strange all of a sudden?

“Can’t you see what she’s trying to do?” laughed Dís. “She’s trying to chat you up. She fancies you.”

It was a good thing that Kíli was not eating or drinking because he was sure he would have suffered a premature demise otherwise. Even so, he still found himself choking on his own saliva for the revelation was simply too shocking. Parvati, a pretty and popular girl, fancied him? “Surely you’re mistaken, Mrs Arken. Someone like Parvati can’t possibly fancy me.”

“Mum’s right. She clearly fancies the pants off you,” said Fíli through gritted teeth, looking as if he was suffering from a bad toothache. “I have to admit that she’s not as shallow as I thought she was. Whatever her other traits, at least she’s got good taste.” When Kíli continued to stare at him, Fíli sighed, “Don’t put yourself down, Kíli. You’re a great catch. You’re bright, funny, brave, and very good-looking. Of course, the girls will start noticing you.”

“But…” Kíli still found it hard to believe. No matter what Fíli had told him, he was still a poor orphanage who did not exactly look like a Dwarf nor a Man. Why on earth would any girl fancy him, especially when Fíli was around?

To his surprise, Kíli found that more girls made an effort to greet him while some even came to speak to him as they strolled through the busy streets of Diagon Alley. Most of them were girls of Man. But every now and then, a Dwarf girl would wave at both him and Fíli. Dís could hardly stop laughing the whole time.

“How nice it is to be young again,” sighed Dís half joking half serious when they had finally finished their shopping and made a stop at Florean Fortescue's Ice-Cream Parlour, “I remember my third year in Hogwarts. Everyone was acting up and it was so much fun. Of course, Dwarves and Elves were much more reserved and subtle about their feelings but the Men and Hobbits were just going at it. It was hard not to walk in on someone snogging that Christmas season.”

“Is that why most of those girls are Men?” asked Kíli in surprise. Even after two years in the Magical World, he still found the intricacies and idiosyncrasies of the different races quite perplexing.

“It’s just as much a race thing as a class thing,” said Fíli. “Most of the Pureblood families raise their children to be polite, distant and reserved to the outside world. While one can be passionate and joyful in one’s own circle, it’s usually frowned upon to show your emotions openly to strangers.”

“Which is a load of rubbish, if you ask me,” snorted Dís. “That’s the type of principle your uncle adopts but I absolutely detest it growing up. Why shouldn’t we express our feelings freely? That’s why I love your father so much. He has no such ridiculous notions and rules. When he realised I was his One, he did not hesitate to make his intentions and feelings known.”

“Well,” smiled Fíli, “Elves are worse. At least we’re merry and cheerful amongst ourselves. They’re well-known to be formal even amongst families.”

“But Lindir and Tauriel…” Kíli could not understand how most of their Elf friends did not sound like the frigid race Fíli had just described, “And the evil twins! Even Arwen is not really like what you’ve described.”

“Neither Lindir nor Tauriel are from old Pureblood Elf families. As for Arwen and the evil twins…”

“Lord Elrond is known amongst the Elves for being different,” Dís finished Fíli’s explanation. “He never tried to instil that kind of ideas into his household, which had caused quite the controversy amongst other Pureblood Elf families. He is also the few Elves who hold no prejudice against other races. But for other Elves, the story couldn’t be more different. Most of them even think Lord Elrond has lost his mind since his wife’s passing. That partially explains why Arwen is with Aragorn. Most of the Elf families consider her unsuitable despite Lord Elrond’s status.”

“Because she’s bright and kind?” asked Kíli in disbelief, unable to imagine anyone shunning the beautiful and perfect Arwen.

“Not really because of her but rather because of Lord Elrond’s reputation as a progressive and the evil twin’s reputation,” sighed Dís.

“But that’s awful,” cried Kíli. He could not help but feel sad for Arwen, who embodied perfection in his mind. 

“I don’t think Arwen wants anything to do with those people anyway,” said Fíli with clear contempt in his voice. “She’s much better off with Aragorn who she loves very much and loves her back for who she is.”

Kíli had to agree. He could not imagine Arwen with anyone other than Aragorn. The idea that Arwen was to marry into a stuffy Elf Pureblood family like that of Thranduil was unthinkable and frankly cruel to Arwen. Now that he came to think of it, Kíli suddenly realised that Arwen, Lindir, Tauriel, and the evil twins never seemed that close with the other Elves in Hogwarts. There was still one thing he did not understand though.

“Why are they interested in me, those girls of Men?” asked Kíli. “Surely they’d prefer someone taller, like a Men or an Elf.”

“You’re exceptionally tall for a Dwarf,” said Dís with a proud smile, “which is not surprising since both your mum and dad were tall for their respective races. I think you'll grow up to be taller than even Thorin, who’s the tallest Dwarf I’ve ever seen. For most girls of Men, you’ll be about their height if not taller once you’re older. So don’t feel self-conscious about your height. Your father was slightly shorter than your mum and she fell head over heels for him. Things like height and blood-status are nothing but superficial obstacles in front of true love.”

“Right,” said Kíli slowly, still digesting all the information. “But I don’t like any of them. I mean, I barely know them.”

Dís laughed so hard that she dripped some ice cream onto her beautiful dress. “Nobody’s asking you to marry one of them tomorrow, my dear. You never have to force yourself to like someone. Once you see that person, you’ll know. Just give it time. You’re still young and should really just enjoy life.”


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> When the summer holidays came to an end, Kíli had to say goodbye to Erebor, which was harder than he thought. The new school year would prove to be more hectic than the first two.

For the rest of the summer holidays, Kíli spent most of his time playing Quidditch, working on his homework while preparing for his new subjects, especially Khuzdûl, at the insistence of Fíli, or training with Dwalin on duelling. He tried not to neglect developing his Sense but it was hard to fit it in while still finding time to spend some relaxing time with not just Fíli but also Gimli and Ori who came to visit every now and then.

“My dad’s not happy with my choices in the electives,” said Gimli, throwing himself onto the lush sofa in Dís’s living room. “He doesn’t understand why I don’t want to take Arithmancy. He’s always insisted that I can follow his steps or take a job inside Erebor dealing with accounting but I just hate numbers. I know it’s not Dwarfish at all but whatever. All I want to do is to work with the magical creatures. But to dad, that’s not good enough.”

“But surely, in the end, your dad will support your decision no matter what it is.” Kíli was shocked. He knew that some parents had high expectations for their children but he just could not imagine parents forcing their wishes on their children. How could one do such things to the ones they love?

“You don’t know my dad,” groaned Gimli and covered his face with his hands. “Not yet anyway. He has always been strict since I was a kid. There are things I’m allowed to do and things that are strictly forbidden.”

“That has never stopped you getting into trouble though,” Fíli said with a grin.

Gimli sat up straight and rolled his eyes. “That’s not the point. Anyway, I think my dad pretty much has my whole life planned out since I was 5. Now he’s also talking about future marriage and alliances for me. Oi, watch out, Kíli.”

Kíli had just spurted out the tea he had been drinking. After apologising profusely to Gimli, who looked half-amused, half angry, Kíli turned his attention back to the explosive piece of news. Marriage, at the age of 13? “Your dad can’t be serious, can he? I mean, you’re only 13! Besides, what about your One?”

“It’s not unheard of for prestigious families to start negotiating potential marital alliances at a young age,” said Fíli and Kíli whipped his head around. “It’s more of a tradition of the past but some still practice it today. Usually, those are just tentative agreements formed purely based on family allegiances with the full understanding that it may be dissolved later without question if one party involved has found his or her One. But since the chances of finding one’s One is quite slim, many will choose to keep the arrangements once both parties are of an appropriate age.”

“But that’s insane,” said Kíli, still unable to process this positively Medieval process. “What if one of them finds his or her One after their marriage?”

“Almost all the Dwarves find out who their One is in their twenties,” said Ori, who had been silent until then. “In fact, most find their Ones in Hogwarts because there really isn’t a lot of us. That’s another reason why families sometimes actively seek out other young eligible Dwarves because they want to increase their children’s chances of finding their One by meeting more Dwarves. If they don’t find their One during their Hogwarts years, their family will usually send them touring around Europe and sometimes even other continents to Dwarf settlements to search for their One. By the time they’re 25, they should have exhausted their possibilities. If nothing comes out of the search by then, most Dwarves just give up. They usually agree to the marriages their families have arranged or stay single for the rest of their lives. Dori did that for Nori but he found no one. Knowing Nori, he’ll never settle for someone that is not his One, not that Dori tried to. We’re not important enough to be considered for political alliances, anyway.”

Kíli listened with his mouth hanging open. He felt like he had come from a completely different world. Never in his wildest dreams would he ever imagine entering into a political marriage. “Okay, even if they don’t find their Ones, what if they simply don’t like each other?”

“That’s why you start forming alliances when the children are young and malleable,” said Fíli. “Both will be informed of their parents’ decision and will usually spend more time with each other to get to know and learn to at least tolerate each other. Most actually become pretty good friends so they cohabitate peacefully later on and bring their children up together.”

“Children?” cried Kíli and Gimli snorted with laughter. “What? You think they just live in the same house, say good morning to each other and hold hands at night? Of course, they have to produce offspring. That’s one of the key incentives for such marriages. Find your One really isn’t that common and one is extremely lucky and blessed to achieve that. The number of Dwarves is slowly dwindling even with the current practices. If we only marry and have children with our Ones, we’d be distinct within 5 generations.”

This was more than Kíli had ever imagined. Turning to Fíli, he asked with a tinge of apprehension that he could not explain, “Is your mum or uncle arranging a marriage for you now?”

The look on Fíli’s face was most peculiar. His gaze fixed on Kíli was so intense and piercing that Kíli felt the need to shy away. He had a feeling that Fíli was searching for something but he knew not what. Before he could ask, however, Fíli had already looked away. “No, I have told mum and uncle not to arrange anything for me. I will make my own choice on this matter. Mum has agreed but uncle is not thrilled about it. I will not yield on this point though.”

Feeling a new-found wave of respect for Fíli’s rebellious behaviour, Kíli beamed and thumped Fíli hard on the back. “Good for you, mate. You totally should take control of this. No matter who you choose, I’ll stand by you one hundred per cent. You can count on that.”

Fíli gave him a half-smile before changing the subject. Following Fíli’s lead, Kíli soon found himself in an animated discussion with Fíli and Gimli about the new season of the British and Irish Quidditch League. When he looked around, however, he could see Ori sending Fíli sympathetic looks, which frankly baffled him. Before he could dwell on the matter any longer, the discussion of the Tornadoes’ new tactics had pushed the topic of marriage and the One firmly to the back of his mind.

\--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

During the entire summer holiday, Kíli had only seen Thorin three times, who looked more drained and pale each time. Clearly, things were not going according to plans.

“Uncle told me that Azog has been trying to both reinstate his seat in Wizengamot and petition for a new member in the Hogwarts school board.”

“Wizengamot?” Kíli blinked in confusion.

“Oh yeah, I forgot,” Fíli clapped his head on his forehead. “Wizengamot is the Wizarding high court and parliament. There’s a Chief Warlock who presides over court proceedings and about 50 members who vote on the verdict of the cases and the passing of legal statutes. Needless to say, a seat in the Wizengamot is a very prestigious and potentially very influential position. It’s the perfect place for lobbying, liaisons, you know, all that sort of political manoeuvres.”

“How are the members selected?”

“Usually each ancient family has a seat unless it is extinct in the male line or the heir is considered unfit to participate in the daily proceedings of Wizengamot. They had to include the criterion because some of the ancient Pureblood families are so inbred that their heirs are all loony. One of the Gaunt once tried to demonstrate brewing the Draught of Living Death using a cauldron made of cheese. It didn’t go too well. The cauldron cooked before exploding and splashing the potion everywhere. Wizengamot had to stop operation for 2 weeks so St. Mungos could revive half of its members.”

Kíli had to stifle a snigger. After what he had learnt about the Wizarding world, he had very little sympathy for those Pureblood families. “Serves them right. Please tell me they’re not the only ones in charge of our future.

“No,” Fíli smiled. “Others are selected based on merit. Each member has to go through a stringent character and magical test to ensure that they’re of good moral character. If one has been involved in illicit activities, like Azog was even though he claimed he only acted under the Imperius Curse, their seat can be revoked.”

“Then how can Azog possibly hope to reinstate his seat?” Kíli simply could not see how this could be achieved. Surely the members of Wizengamot would not want a former Death Eater amongst them, controlling the laws of the Wizarding world.

“His argument is that he never willingly participated in those Death Eater activities and thus should not be held accountable for his behaviour. The fact that he has never violated another law since then is further proof of his innocence. I know, I know,” Fíli held up his hands at the indignant look on Kíli’s face. “Azog is certainly a dark wizard who cannot be trusted. But the fact remains that we have no proof that he indeed committed those crimes of his own volition or that he was the one who put Tom under the Imperius Curse to open the Chamber of Secrets.”

“But you just said he has to pass a strict test.” Kíli pointed out another obstacle. “How can he pass the moral judgement test when he’s so evil?”

Fíli shifted his weight and looked hesitant, almost uncomfortable. He finally answered under the increasingly curious look of Kíli. “Well, the test was created hundreds of years ago. Wizengamot predates even the Ministry of Magic. Back then, the concept of Dark vs Light, good vs evil is quite different from how we perceive it today.”

Kíli was even more perplexed than ever. “I don’t understand. How can that be different?”

“Look,” said Fíli patiently, “the Wizengamot was founded in a very different time. Muggles and wizards did not coexist peacefully back then. I’m sure your Muggle history books cover some aspect of that too such as the witch burning. Muggles were terrified of wizards and did their best to persecute as many witches and wizards as they could. They not only implicated and murdered many innocent Muggles but quite a few witches and wizards too. When the Wizengamot was founded, its top priority was to protect wizards. Muggles were considered the enemies so their rights and welfare mattered very little to the original Wizengamot members. Many of them had deep-seated hostility towards Muggles, which actually wasn’t that unfounded back then. Mistrust of Muggleborns was also prevalent because they feared that Muggleborns would eventually side with their family and blood. The test, therefore, was not designed to test the members on their unbiased view towards Muggles or Muggleborns. It was used to make sure that the Wizengamot member could uphold Wizarding traditions and protect his or her fellow wizards. It’s only too easy for someone like Azog to twist his bigoted view to fit into this criterion. Even nowadays, it’s quite hard for Muggleborns to be accepted into Wizengamot for precisely the same reason, which is just wrong on so many levels. It's hard to change people's preconceptions, no matter how ridiculous or outdated they might be.”

This was again another shock to Kíli. From his stay in Erebor this summer, he had surmised that the Wizarding world could be a bit archaic and backwards in their traditions and social rules, particularly amongst social elites. Kíli had written it down to the elite being stuffy and stupid, which was not entirely different from the posh families in the Muggle world. But this, the obvious prejudice against Muggles and Muggleborns and the acceptance of something so outdated and irrelevant at such a high level of government, was simply appalling. Despite all the social prejudice he had experienced since entering the Wizarding world, Kíli had never imagined that there would be this kind of systematic, almost government-sanctioned discrimination against certain groups of society. “This is just…” he tried to find the right word but failed. Thankfully, Fíli understood him immediately.

“I know,” said Fíli, his head down, “I’m sorry that it’s so unfair.”

“It’s not your fault,” said Kíli heatedly. “It’s the fault of those old useless idiots who sit in the Wizengamot but refuse to do anything. Someone’s got to do something. We need to do something to change this.”

“We can’t do anything yet,” sighed Fíli. “Even uncle’s having a hard time thwarting Azog’s scheme. And it’s not just Azog. More former Death Eaters who managed to evade capture or convictions are now demanding more rights and power. They have been laying low for such a long time that this sudden new attempt to reintegrate themselves not only into the society but also back into the power circle is extremely concerning.”

“Even if they pass the test, they still need to get the votes of most Wizengamot members to be reinstated, right?” asked Kíli hoping that the Wizarding government at least had some common sense. “Surely people aren’t thick enough let them back in.”

“That’s what uncle’s been working towards,” said Fíli but he did not sound confident at all. “But don’t forget, people like Azog come from very old families that are both affluent and influential. He can certainly afford to spend all the money he wants to give himself a good chance.”

“You mean he’s going to bribe the other members?” Kíli was simply outraged. How could something like this be allowed?

“It’s certainly a possibility we have to consider and try to prevent,” sighed Fíli. “Uncle’s been working on it with Gandalf but I frankly don’t think it’s going very well.”

“This is just so wrong,” muttered Kíli. “Someone’s got to do something. Things like this can’t be allowed to happen.”

“I know,” said Fíli, his face solemn. “But this is politics. It’s never straightforward or easy. It’s hardly fair sometimes.”

\--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Fortunately, Dwalin’s availability was less unpredictable. Every week he would stop by Erebor to spend one afternoon with Kíli and Fíli in duelling lessons and usually stayed for dinner afterwards.

“It’s important that yeh train yerself,” said Dwalin gruffly, his eyes focused on Kíli in particular. “Both of yeh are prime targets for attacks and yeh need to be prepared. Thorin can’t spare the time himself. Otherwise, he would have been here too.”

To Kíli’s surprise and slight disappointment, Dwalin did not teach them many new spells. They had spent most of the time perfecting the ones they knew while learning a couple of defensive spells like the Shield Charm. It did not mean the class was by any means easy though.

“Use yer peripheral vision!” barked Dwalin as he sneaked up on Kíli and attacked him before Kíli could even utter the incantation “Protego”.

“I’m trying!” grunted Kíli as he climbed up from the floor, which was the fifth time that day already. Even though his reflex was quick, Kíli found it hard to stay vigilant the whole time, thus providing ample opportunities for Dwalin to stage a surprise attack. Every part of him ached. Next to him, Fíli was hardly faring any better.

“Yeh have to move faster, Fíli,” Dwalin said, who was surprisingly agile for his size. “Seeing the attack coming isn’t good enough. Yer opponent may not give yeh any notice so yeh must rely on yer reflex and act fast. Trust yer instinct.”

“It’s easy for you to say,” Kíli could not help but whine a little in front of Dwalin. “You’ve been doing this for years.”

Dwalin laughed. “True. But yeh’re catching up fast, laddie. Believe it or not, yeh are much better than I was when I was just a wee lad.”

It was strange how quickly one could forget one’s aches and pains. Dwalin’s compliment felt like a balm that not only healed Kíli’s pain but warmed him from inside. “Really?”

“‘Course! I’d never lie to yeh. Look at yeh, yeh defeated the Basilisk! Yeh’ve got the Sense. I had none of that when I was yer age. Give it some time and yeh’ll be the one kicking my poor old arse.”

Kíli laughed. Even though he doubted that would happen any time soon, it was reassuring to hear Dwalin’s confidence in him. Bolstered by the encouragement, Kíli threw himself into the classes with renewed fervour.

“Can we continue this when we’re back in Hogwarts?” Kíli asked during their lesson the week before the school term started. Even though he had collected more bumps and bruises than he could ever imagine, even from Quidditch, Kíli had enjoyed the lessons immensely. He had not only learnt new spells. More importantly, he had learnt how to fight. He was sure that with more training, he would be properly prepared for what was to come.

“We’ll see,” said Dwalin with a smile. “The third year is always going to be tough, with new classes and Hogsmeade trips coming up. I won’t blame yeh at all if yeh don’t have time for extra duelling lessons. Take yer time and take it easy. If yeh reckon yeh can handle it, yeh know where to find me.”

\--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The trip back to Hogwarts was, for the first time, quite uneventful. Dís took them to the King’s Cross Station using a Portkey, which was a hundred times more preferable than Side Along Apparation. This time, however, It took her longer to say goodbye to them.

“Look after yourself, will you, my dear?” Dís whispered to Kíli’s ear as she hugged him tightly in her warm chest. “Don’t go looking for trouble. If trouble finds you, go and find Dwalin or Thorin right away. I know my brother is not always the brightest ray of sunshine but he’s still a very good wizard. Just…” She released Kíli from her chest and cupped Kíli’s face in her hands. “Take good care of yourself, my love.”

“I will, Mrs Arken,” Kíli whispered back, leaning into her warm hand subconsciously. It felt so much harder to board the train and leave for the castle this time, for his past 6 weeks in Erebor had been like time in paradise. Never had he felt so at home anywhere else, with Dís’s warm smile and delicious home-cooked meals and Fíli’s constant company. As much as he loved Hogwarts, Kíli found it hard to leave the safety and warmth of their little home in Erebor to face the less pleasant reality where people like Bolg and Azog not only existed but also sought to take control of their world.

“How’s your summer?” Tauriel asked once Kíli had settled in the Gryffindor table. The Start of the Term Feast is probably the only time when students actually sit strictly according to their Houses.

“It’s been wonderful,” smiled Kíli. “I spent almost the entire summer in Erebor with Fíli and his family. How’s yours?”

“Oh, you know,” shrugged Tauriel, stabbing a brussel sprout with her fork. “It’s alright. I went back to Thranduil’s with Legolas. Nothing new really. Thranduil keeps me fed and clothed but that’s pretty much it. Oh, I don’t mind it really,” she added quickly when she saw the scandalised look on Kíli’s face, “I’m used to it ages ago. I mean, let’s be real. It’s not in Thranduil’s nature to be affectionate, even to his own son. But he did take me in under his roof without expecting anything in return so I’m forever grateful.”

Kíli did not know what to say. He wondered if it was better to grow up as he did, which was a loving environment even though they were always constrained financially, or as Tauriel did, which was cold and distant despite the affluent lifestyle. Sometimes he even wondered how Tauriel turned out to be so warm and cheerful considering how she was brought up. “Do you miss them? Your parents, I mean?”

“Of course, I do.” Tauriel set her fork down and looked up with a distant look in her green eyes. The sad smile on her usually cheerful face was so rare yet still hauntingly beautiful. “Every single minute of every single day. I’ve never met my mother because she died giving birth to me but I still remember my dad. Not a lot of him because he was always busy, fighting in the Last Wizarding War. But I remember he was kind and caring. Whenever he was with me, he always told me fun stories and listened to everything I wanted to say, no matter how silly it was. It was the time I looked forward to the most when I was a child.”

“I’m sorry,” said Kíli. He meant it too. The only thing crueller than losing your parents before you knew them was to know them for a short period of time before losing them forever. He had never felt so close to someone before because no one else had the same experience, not even Fíli. Only Tauriel could understand completely what he had gone through and how he felt.

“It’s alright.” Tauriel shook her head and picked up her fork again, the sad smile vanishing completely. “I know it’s not the best situation because my livelihood literally depends on the charity of another but I never think less of myself because of that. I can’t choose what happened to my mum and I’m extremely proud of my dad. He was a real warrior and died a hero’s death. It was thanks to people like him who sacrificed their lives that we can stand here today, learning magic instead of cowering under the tyranny of the Dark Lord.” She gripped her fork hard, looking both defiant and full of hope. “I suppose I could wallow in my misery but I refuse to be a victim. My background and experiences make me who I am today. It has made me stronger, more resilient, more grateful, and more compassionate. It is something I’ve learnt to cherish and I wouldn’t change it for the world.”

This little speech left Kíli slightly breathless. He had never seen such optimism in anyone before. Despite her tragic past and difficult childhood, Tauriel had managed to not only stay strong and kind but also learn and grow into the brave wonderful witch that she was today. Tauriel was right: she point blank refused to be a victim and it was only now that Kíli realised that he had not been able to do the same all the time. But now he knew he could. If Tauriel could do it, so could he. So he would because he needed to.

“Evening,” Aragorn’s appearance interrupted Kíli’s musing. He looked up and saw the Gryffindor Prefect settle himself down next to them after his, wait… 

“Is that a Head Boy badge?” asked Tauriel excitedly. “Well done. Hang on, I bet Arwen is Head Girl!”

“And I can see you’re not a Prefect,” Aragorn laughed.

“Well, nobody in their right mind is going to pick me as a Prefect,” grinned Tauriel. “My grades are passable at best. I can barely control myself, let alone others. Can’t say I want to be one, to be perfectly honest. I’d rather be the Quidditch Captain.”

“You’ll have to wait until I’ve graduated then,” smiled Aragorn.

“Or rather until Oliver is dead,” smirked Tauriel. “Even then he’ll probably come back as a ghost to haunt us. Imagine training with Oliver’s ghost hovering over you, telling you to hit the Quaffle harder!” Both Aragorn and Kíli laughed. Oliver’s obsession with Quidditch indeed knew no bounds.

“But seriously,” said Aragorn after the laughter had died down, “expect even crazier training regimes from Olivier this year because this is his last year and his last chance to win the Quidditch Cup here. He’s already bored me to death on the train here with tactics and training strategies.”

Kíli groaned. He could already see himself drowning in extra coursework and additional Quidditch practices this year. He wondered if he would even have time to sleep and eat.

\--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

They were handed their timetables during breakfast the next day. This was the first time Kíli’s timetable would be slightly different from Fíli’s. Every Wednesday afternoon, Kíli had a double period of Khuzdûl while Fíli’s double Quenya was every Tuesday afternoon. If Kíli was being perfectly honest, he did not fancy this change much at all because it meant that he would not only have to face a brand new class on his own but also get to spend even less time with Fíli. There was, however, nothing he could do about it.

“We’ll still see each other at other classes and in mealtimes,” said Fíli encouragingly, “and don’t worry about Khuzdûl. I know it’s daunting to learn a brand new language but you’ll be fine. I didn’t know a word of Quenya before I got my textbooks this summer nor do I have anyone to practice the language with. Still, my first Quenya class went okay. You, on the other hand, are already ahead of everyone else, with all the practice and preparation you’ve done during the summer.”

It turned out that Fíli was quite right. Kíli arrived in his first Khuzdûl class just in time as he was rushing from Herbology, which was in Greenhouse No.3. When he stepped into the classroom, he was greeted with the most peculiar Dwarf he had ever seen. Professor Bifur Moria was medium-built for a Dwarf with long dark hair and extremely bushy beard, which was roughly braided and tinted with grey. The most usual thing about his appearance, however, was a part of an axe protruding out of his forehead. It seemed as if he was struck in the head with an axe that was then permanently stuck there.

“Er,” muttered Kíli, unable to take his eyes off the strange Dwarf. Professor Bifur did not seem to mind Kíli’s staring though as he waved Kíli into an empty seat, which was right next to Bain. Kíli beamed at his Hufflepuff friend, who smiled back. A good look around the room told Kíli that no Dwarves from his year was taking this class. Most of his classmates were either Men and Hobbits, including some Muggleborn students like Justin Finch-Fletchley, who waved at Kíli with a big smile. Ever since Kíli’s triumph against the Basilisk the year before, Justin had been extremely grateful and nice towards Kíli.

_ “Good afternoon, class,” _ said Bifur and Kíli’s eyes widened. Next to him, Bain looked thoroughly perplexed. Bifur was, despite the fact it was their first class, speaking Khuzdûl.

“He can’t be serious,” hissed Bain. “This is our first class! We don’t understand Khuzdûl yet!”

“He’s just saying Good afternoon,” said Kíli but he was frowning too. “But I agree. Speaking Khuzdûl to us in the first lesson is too much.”

Unfortunately, Bifur seemed set on using the language they knew almost nothing about during the entire class. Kíli could tell that the class was more than confused. He was one of the few who understood any Khuzdûl, thanks to his preparation during the summer. Even though he could not comprehend most of what Bifur was saying, Kíli knew enough, such as ‘open your books’, to follow basic instructions every now and then. He soon found himself the translator for the entire class as he whispered to Bain who dutifully passed the messages on.

“Okay, that is the most difficult class I’ve ever sat in,” said Bain the moment they were outside the Khuzdûl classroom. “That’s including Potions and Transfiguration. What do you think Professor Bifur is playing at?”

“Dunno,” shrugged Kíli. He did not mind Bifur’s method as much as the rest of his class but he agreed that it was not exactly traditional. “I’ll ask Fíli about it. He probably knows more about Professor Bifur.”

Fíli, as it turned out, did know more about Bifur. The reason, however, was not what Kíli had expected at all.

“Professor Bifur was speaking Khuzdûl in your first class because he could only speak Khuzdûl,” said Fíli, which made Kíli gasp.

“You can’t be serious!” said Kíli. “How can he only speak Khuzdûl? Surely he must have learnt English after teaching in Hogwarts for so long.”

“It’s not that he could never speak English,” said Fíli patiently. “He used to be able to speak English just like everyone else. He still understands English now. He has just lost his ability after he had been hit with that cursed axe in a battle in the Last Wizarding War.”

Now that made sense. “Is that why he still has that axe in his forehead? Because it’s cursed so he can’t remove it?”

“Exactly,” nodded Fíli. “We still don’t know what kind of curse is on that axe. Everyone’s tried to remove it from Professor Bifur but nobody has succeeded. In the end, both uncle and Professor Gandalf concluded that it was safer to leave it where it is. But ever since then, Professor Bifur had lost his ability to speak English.”

“That’s horrible,” Kíli now felt terrible for his peculiar professor. “How does he go through day-to-day lives when he has to interact with other wizards?”

“Professor Bifur has already been a quiet Dwarf, even before his injury,” said Fíli with a fond smile. “He prefers solitude and the occasional company of just a select few over large groups. That certainly has not changed since his injury. His cousins, Professor Bofur who teaches Muggle Studies and Bombur our Chef, are very protective of him. They make sure that Professor Bifur has everything he needs. Nowadays he spends most of his time reading those tomes written in Khuzdûl to make sure the magic recorded inside is not lost. I think he quite likes it.”

Being a fairly sociable person, Kíli found it hard to find joy out of such a life. He, therefore, could not help but feel immense sympathy towards Bifur. “Do we know who attacked him?”

Fíli shook his head, “Nobody knows. It must be a very dark wizard if uncle and Professor Gandalf can’t do anything about the cursed axe. But nobody, except maybe Professor Bifur himself, knows which Death Eater attacked him. Uncle tried asking him but he couldn’t remember much of the attack. Uncle thinks it must be because of the curse.”

Kíli felt his blood boil. Ever since he had entered the Wizarding world, all he had heard about the Last Wizarding War and the Death Eaters were the atrocities they had committed, the lives they had ruined, and the families they had torn asunder. Kíli himself was a victim to their brutalities, though maybe indirectly. If there was one thing Kíli was sure, it was that he wanted to fight against the Death Eaters and any dark wizards, not just when he grew up, but whenever he had the chance. He wanted to right all the wrongs they had done and make sure they did not do more damage to their beautiful world.


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> With more classes to take, the new school year had brought more excitement but also some new challenges that Kíli was not entirely prepared for. Fortunately, he had still got his friends by his side, mostly.

The increased workload could be felt almost immediately by all the third years. Not only did they have to keep up with all their existing classes, but they were expected to spend extra time not only attending lectures but also doing homework for their new electives. Free periods were pretty much as elusive as Dáin’s common sense when it comes to magical monsters and Kíli found more students of his year in the library than ever before.

“We need to finish our Arithmancy homework today,” said Fíli, running his hand through his beautifully-braided hair, shaking them loose, after their first Arithmancy class on Thursday. “We’ve still got Care of Magical Creatures tomorrow and I have so much reading and translations to do for Quenya.”

“Do you think Gimli can help us?” asked Kíli hopefully. “He is Professor Gloín’s son after all.”

“Don’t be absurd,” snapped Fíli uncharacteristically, which made Kíli jump. A closer look at Fíli revealed an even more worrisome sight because Fíli looked frazzled as he flipped through his Arithmancy textbook while rubbing his bloodshot eyes. “Gimli’s not even taking Arithmancy. He hates numbers. Besides, how can we learn anything if we simply copy off someone else?”

“It’s just a thought,” mumbled Kíli. Resigned to spending an entire evening in the library, Kíli tried his best to decipher the numbers and equations in their homework. It was hard work and there was no shortcut. Unlike Nori, who was known amongst students to be relaxed and easygoing, Gloín was meticulous and stern. More importantly, he took his job very seriously. Kíli felt almost jealous when Bain in the table next to them packed up his books for Divination after spending barely 30 minutes in the library.

The only good thing about his electives so far was that Bolg was in none of them. Kíli thought with grim satisfaction that Bolg’s puny brain probably could not explode when confronted with something as complicated as Ancient Runes or Arithmancy. Legolas was in their Arithmancy class but he kept mostly to himself, which was very unexpected. Kíli did notice that Legolas seemed a lot more reserved and mature this year, no longer insulting everyone who had the misfortune of crossing his paths. He even heard from Gimli that Legolas was taking Muggle Studies.

“You’d think His Highness’s the last person in the world to take that class,” said Gimli, throwing his hands up in the air dramatically. “We all know how he feels about Muggles and Muggleborns.”

“He has never stopped insulting my blood status since we first met,” said Kíli, equally surprised. “Why is he taking Muggle Studies if he thinks Muggles are scums?”

“Maybe he’s changed his mind?” said Ori with a hopeful smile, always willing to look on the bright side.

“Fat chance,” Gimli scoffed, “growing up in the household of Thranduil. You’re bound to become a bigoted git.”

“But that’s so unfair. I mean, it’s hardly his fault who his parents are, is it? Maybe he has realised that Muggleborns aren’t bad at all since he’s in Hogwarts. Maybe that makes him rethink what he’s been taught and makes him want to learn the truth himself.”

“You know what,” said Kíli. “I’d almost respect him if that’s the case. It takes guts to go against your father and what you’ve been taught, guts I didn’t believe Legolas has.”

“Well,” shrugged Gimli, “we still don’t know if he’s reformed. Even if he has changed his views, he’s still a narcissistic prick, who spends most of his spare time staring into the mirror and falling in love with himself all over again every day so that’s that,” which left Kíli chortling with laughter. Even Ori gave Gimli a reluctant grin.

Unfortunately, Kíli’s luck ran out on Friday. As he was walking towards Dáin’s cabin, he could see the distinctly ugly head of Bolg in a distance, heading in the same direction.

“Oh, no,” groaned Kíli. “Bolg next to some crazy dangerous beasts of Professor Dáin’s. I’m doomed.”

“It’ll be fine,” said Fíli bracingly. “Professor Dáin knows how to handle dangerous animals and he’ll never let someone like Bolg hurt anyone in his class. Seriously, the man has survived attacks from dragons and Chimeras. I’m sure he’s more than capable of dealing with Bolg.”

This was all well and good, Kíli thought grimly. Yet with the number of students and magical beasts in the class, it was bound to be chaotic so Kíli doubted Dáin would be able to spare him or Bolg any attention. If Bolg had decided to sneak up on him, Kíli would have to rely on himself to be alert and prepared. He could only hope that his training during the summer would pay off.

“Welcome to your first Care of Magical Creatures class,” Dáin’s booming voice was the first thing to greet them in the open space outside the cabin. “Please take out your textbook and open it to page 52.”

“And exactly how do we do that?” asked Legolas sarcastically. Some things just did not change. Kíli would have very much liked to snap back at him, except that his question made too much sense. Nobody, it seemed, had learnt to open the  _ Monster Book of Monsters _ , appropriately named as it attacked anyone who dared to remove the belt binding it shut, without being bitten.

“What?” Dáin looked from one student to another with wide eyes and raised eyebrows. When he saw the blank look on everyone’s face, he sighed dramatically, “Just stroke its spine, for Mahal’s sake.” Shaking his head, Dáin started to walk towards the Forbidden Forest, leaving the class to sort out their books.

“Who in their right mind uses a book that tries to bite you unless you stroke its spine as a textbook?” said Bain, rolling his eyes. Legolas apparently was not alone in his complaints. Fíli, however, did not seem to take too kindly to a direct criticism about a fellow Dwarf. When he opened his mouth to retort, however, he found himself stopped by Kíli.

“Just leave it,” said Kíli earnestly. “Don’t start a fight when they’ve got a fair point.”

“What do you mean they’ve got a fair point?” hissed Fíli once they had gathered around an open ground not too far into the Forbidden Forest. “They’ve just insulted Professor Dáin.”

“I know,” said Kíli patiently. “But language aside, they’ve also got a fair point. Professor Dáin did not give us any instructions in the school letter on how to open the book. The last time I tried, it nearly bit my leg off. So you can see why people are a bit upset about this.”

Fíli said nothing but Kíli knew he was still fuming about it. He supposed the fact that Bain was taking Legolas’s side was not helping things but then again, Fíli should not simply ignore the truth just so he could side with his fellow Dwarves. Even till this day, Kíli still did not comprehend the close-knit and highly-exclusive Dwarf society and their ideologies. The idea that one being a Dwarf was enough to trump almost everything else was simply absurd to Kíli. He understood that this might be necessary for the survival of the species in times of war but it seemed to promulgate into every aspect of the Dwarf’s lives.

“Right,” Dáin’s enthusiastic voice brought everyone’s attention back to the class. Kíli was astonished to see several crates lying in the open ground. Surely not the Skrewts. Next to him, Ori had groaned, though very quietly.

“Gather around,” Dáin waved his large hands impatiently at the students. “It won’t do when you stand too far away.”

Taking a cautious step forward, Kíli’s face soon relaxed. The magic coming from the crate felt nothing like that of the Blast-Ended Skrewts. Instead, it felt curious, eager, and almost playful. Now much more eager to find out about what was hidden inside the crate, Kíli walked several steps closer until he was standing right next to a crate.

“So these are safe?” whispered Fíli who had followed Kíli’s lead. Beaming, Kíli nodded. “I think so. Their magic feels so inquisitive and curious. It’s almost like that of a young kid or a puppy, which is kind of endearing actually.”

Dáin chose that moment to open a crate and Kíli found himself looking at a group of flurry black creatures with long snouts. None of them had shown any sign of aggression at all. Instead, they were blinking up at the class and sniffing the air as if they were slightly confused by all the attention they were getting. One or two even stood on their hind legs so they could put their flat little front paws up on the edge of the crate to get a better look at the class.

“Nifflers!” cried Kíli, recognising these cuddly creatures from his stay in Erebor the past Christmas.

Dáin beamed at him. “Quite correct, Kíli. 5 points to Gryffindor. I take it that you know what they do.”

“They’re treasure hunters,” said Kíli, remembering what Fíli had told him about these snuggly little things. “They are attracted to shiny things and can burrow underground, which makes them great treasure hunters.”

“Very well said indeed,” smiled Dáin. “Another 5 points to Gryffindor. Now, we’re going to play a game. Form a pair and each pair of you will get a Niffler. I’ve buried about 100 gold coins underground. We’ll see whose Niffler can dig out the most coins. Now, you want to take off all your valuables because like Kíli said, these little chaps won’t care if they find the gold coin or your gold watch. Off you go.”

“Your Sense has certainly improved,” said Fíli once they had got their Niffler. He looked both happy and impressed. “Last Christmas you couldn’t sense them at all in Erebor, remember?”

That was true. Kíli did not even think about it until Fíli mentioned it. He had no idea how this had happened, however, since he had not spent much time developing his Sense.

“I think it must have naturally developed as your magic gets stronger,” explained Fíli. “Your Sense is part of your magic. Hence as your magic develops and progresses, so does your Sense.”

That did make sense. “So I don’t need to specifically train my Sense?”

“Training your Sense will definitely make it develop faster,” said Fíli. “But I wouldn’t worry too much about allocating time for that if you don’t have time this year. It may take longer but at least you won’t burn out.”

The class was surprisingly enjoyable and passed incredibly fast. Kíli and Fíli had a great time following their Niffler around as it dug into the ground to find more and more gold coins. When the allotted time was over, everyone was having such a good time that they did not wish to stop.

“Can we keep them as pets?” asked Bain enthusiastically. His Niffler was busy burrowing into his neck.

Dáin laughed, “I know they look cuddly but they don’t make good house pets. They’ll probably tear your house down before you can blink. But we do keep them in Erebor, for obvious reasons, and we have to make sure not to let them loose.”

When it came time to collect the Nifflers at the end of the class, there was an unexpected interruption. A commotion could be heard inside the Forbidden Forest, which drew everyone’s attention.

“Ah,” Dáin stopped on his track and frowned, “that might be the Acromantulas. They’ve been getting restless recently since their leader’s health has been deteriorating.”

“Acromantula?” Kíli mouthed the word in disbelief. Fíli looked equally shocked while the rest of the class looked as if they were ready to bolt at any moment.

“Please return the Nifflers to the crate,” said Dáin almost absentmindedly. “Gimli, could you please pack up the Nifflers and dismiss the class? I need to go and take care of the, er…”

“Sure,” nodded Gimli. Dáin sighed with relief before dashing into the Forbidden Forest, his wand at the ready.

“Everyone, please follow Professor Dáin’s instructions,” cried Gimli but few were paying him any attention. Some students simply left their Nifflers loose before running back to the castle as quickly as their legs would carry them. Gimli’s frantic yelling did nothing to help.

“Let’s just catch these Nifflers before they get away,” sighed Fíli. Together, he, Kíli, and Ori helped Gimli chase the Nifflers around the open ground, catching them one by one back to the crate.

“I think we’re one short,” said Kíli after all the Nifflers had been rounded and securely locked in the crate. Gimli looked horror-struck as he dashed to the crates to count them again.

“We are indeed,” wailed Gimli. “Professor Dáin is going to kill me when he finds out.”

“Maybe we’ve missed one,” said Fíli reasonably. “Perhaps one has managed to burrow into the ground. Let’s search again. Kíli, can you…”

“Of course,” said Kíli though he was not feeling very confident. If the Niffler had managed to dig deep into the ground, he might not be able to Sense it. He still tried, as he crouched down and practically crawled on the open ground, shutting all his other senses so he could focus on the magic of the little creature. After a good half an hour, however, Kíli still felt nothing.

“It must have escaped,” said Fíli to a visibly panicking Gimli. “It’s hardly the end of the world, Gimli. Nifflers are harmless enough. All we need to do is to inform Professor Dáin so he could be on the lookout. I’m sure it will return one day. Besides,” Fíli shuddered, “I’m sure he’s got bigger things to worry about if what he said about Acromantula is correct.”

All in all, this Care of Magical Creatures could not be called exactly uneventful. Kíli, however, was still grateful that Dáin had chosen an innocuous creature for their first class. At least Bolg could not use a Niffler to attack him.

By the time they got back to the castle, dinner was almost over. All four of them rushed to the Great Hall and wolfed down as much food as they could before they all disappeared from the plates. Sighing with relief that the long week was finally over, Kíli turned to Fíli, “do you want to play some Wizard’s Chess tonight?”

“I can’t,” sighed Fíli. “I’ve got so much homework to do!”

“But it’s Friday night,” said Kíli in disbelief. “I’m sure you can spare…”

“No, Kíli, I can’t!” cried Fíli, which almost made Kíli jump. “Do you know how much reading I’ve got for Quenya? I need to catch up because I’m not excelling in that class! I couldn’t even translate the sentence Professor Glorfindel gave us in class.”

“Okay, okay,” said Kíli, raising his hands in the air in surrender. “I suppose we can go to the library to…”

“I’m so sorry, Kíli,” said Fíli and he looked it too, “but I’ve asked Arwen to help me with Quenya so I’m going to meet her in the Ravenclaw Tower. I’ll catch you tomorrow, okay?”

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Despite all the extra mountains of work, Kíli was still able to find enjoyment in his favourite classes such as Defence Against the Dark Arts. They were learning to deal with more advanced dark magical creatures this year, which filled Kíli with excitement. Unlike Dáin, Dwalin had the common sense to protect his students from real harm while still teaching them how to recognise and defend themselves against these creatures.

“We’re going to talk about Boggart today.” Dwalin’s warm smile was only slightly interrupted by the rattling noise from an old wardrobe. “Now who can tell me what a Boggart is?”

After a short silence, Ori raised his hand. Dwalin beamed at him and Ori spoke with more confidence. “A Boggart is a shapeshifter that takes the form of the beholder’s worst fear. Nobody knows what it looks like when it’s on its own.”

“Excellent! 10 points to Ravenclaw! We have a Boggart trapped inside this wardrobe. I’ll teach yeh how to defeat a Boggart today so yeh can practice it against this Boggart. The spell yeh need to use is  _ Riddikulus _ but more importantly, yeh need laughter. The spell allows yeh to transform the Boggart into an amusing shape so yeh are no longer scared of it. Now, I want yeh to think about what frightens you the most and how yeh can change that into something funny.”

This was perhaps the first time Kíli found Defence Against the Dark Arts less than enjoyable. He knew exactly what his worst fear would be since it was plaguing him almost every night yet he failed to see how he could make that amusing. It almost felt wrong to do so, like it was an insult to his parents. Next to him, however, his classmates were all busy readying themselves for their Boggart.

After some practice with the incantation and wandwork, Dwalin had them all lined up in front of the wardrobe. Kíli shuffled towards the end of the line, which earned him a surprised look from Dwalin. Kíli usually volunteered to go first in Defence Against the Dark Arts. Fíli, on the other hand, seemed to understand Kíli’s reservations.

“I’ll go before you and try to stall it as long as I can,” Fíli whispered. “It may not even be that hard. I have no idea how to make it work anyway.”

Before Kíli could ask Fíli anything more on his plan, the practical test had started. Kíli’s attention was drawn to his classmates’ interesting Boggarts. Ori’s was an angry-looking Dori telling him he was not allowed to go to Hogsmeade because it was too dangerous. Gimli’s, to Kíli’s great relief, was a rampaging Chimera. Fortunately, he had managed to retain some sanity despite being constantly in Dáin’s company. Legolas’s, on the other hand, was a snake. Kíli almost sniggered despite his own worries. For an arrogant Slytherin bully, Legolas’s worst fear was surprisingly tame and ironic.

When it was Fíli’s turn, he looked hesitant. Kíli could help but feel his curiosity pique to find out what Fíli’s Boggart was. What could be so scary that Fíli could not think of a way to make it funny? He soon found out and immediately understood why.

Standing in front of them was Thorin with a deeply disappointed look. Fíli’s face paled at Boggart Thorin’s word that Fíli had been nothing but a disappointment. Kíli watched as Fíli’s hand trembled, his wand shaking slightly. When he finally managed to utter a  _ Riddikulus _ , Kíli could tell his heart was not in it. He could hardly blame Fíli though. He had always idolised Thorin and the idea of making Thorin into something comical in front of everyone was simply unacceptable.

Fortunately, Dwalin had stepped up to save the day. Standing in front of Fíli, he faced the Boggart that soon changed into a house. Waving his wand quickly, the lone house turned into a tavern with music and laughter inside. Dwalin turned around and smiled at Fíli, “clearly that’s something yeh need to work on, Fíli. Why don’t yeh write this in your essay and discuss how yeh plan to combat yer fear next time. Now we’ve got only one…” His voice trailed off for Kíli’s eyes were still fixed on the tavern, his face white as a sheet as if he had seen a ghost. Clearing his throat uncomfortably, Dwalin said, “well, maybe we should call it…”

Right at that moment, the bell rang, signalling the end of the class. Fíli grabbed Kíli by the elbow and led him out of the classroom as quickly as possible. Yet Kíli could not unsee what he had just seen. It was the house of his parents, the same one he had seen over and over again in his nightmares, the night that they were murdered.

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Just three weeks into the term came Kíli’s first Quidditch practice. Since the evil twins had decided to repeat their final year, no one from the team last year had left. This only fueled Wood’s confidence and determination to win the Quidditch Cup before he graduated.

“We’ve got a good team.” Rubbing his hands together, Oliver paced the Changing room like a hawk circling his prey during his usual prep talk before training. Behind him, Aragorn looked resigned to have his Captain duties taken away from him. “A very strong team that not only knows how to fly but also how to work with each other. We should have won the Quidditch Cup last year had it not been…” He stopped his pacing and swallowed hard as he still had trouble coming to terms with it. “Well, what has been done has been done. But!” He raised his voice suddenly, making Tauriel jump, “this year is my and the twins’ last chance. I want that Quidditch Cup and so do they. We have to work harder and train more. Now,” with a wave of his wand, a complicated diagram with many lines and arrows appeared on the blackboard behind Oliver, “here’s the new strategy I’ve come up with during the summer.”

The next 30 minutes passed in a blur. Kíli could hardly keep his eyes open. The rest of the team was not faring much better. Kíli could see Tauriel nodding off on Aragorn’s shoulder, who himself was fighting hard not to yawn.

“Right, now let’s put our theory to use,” said Oliver after his long-winded speech. Tauriel was jerked awake so quickly that her head hit Aragorn’s chin.

“Sorry, sorry,” said Tauriel amidst the laughter of the team, “didn’t look.”

“It’s alright,” mumbled Aragorn, who was grimacing in pain.

“Why am I so clumsy?” whined Tauriel. “And I’m an Elf! I’m supposed to be graceful and elegant, like Arwen or Lady Galadriel. No wonder Thranduil gives up on me.”

“You’re graceful enough in the air,” said Kíli encouragingly. “Besides, there’s nothing wrong with being a bit clumsy. I like it. It makes it distinctly you and more human. Would you rather be clumsy yet more approachable or graceful yet aloof and stand-off like Thranduil?”

“Fair point,” beamed Tauriel, “I reckon that’s just who I am then. Thanks, Kíli.”

The training lasted the entire Saturday morning. Oliver worked them hard, doing drills after drills before playing mock matches, first between first and reserve team, then mixing players together. They were making good progress, where their passing accuracy had improved and Kíli had managed to catch the Snitch faster with each match. Oliver did not call quit, despite Aragorn’s valiant attempts, until way past lunchtime and only because the Ravenclaw Quidditch team had arrived for their afternoon practice. Everyone looked and felt exhausted and famished by the end of it. Kíli had barely had enough time and energy to say a quick hello and goodbye to Fíli before being dragged away by his team back to the castle to look for some food.

Perhaps spurred by the Gryffindor team's hard work, the Ravenclaw team had upped their game too. Kíli did not catch sight of any of them, including Fíli, during dinner that day. He eventually had to go because the Great Hall was cleared after dinner was over. Hoping that he would catch Fíli, Kíli went to the library to settle at their usual spot. Fíli, however, did not show up for the rest of the night, leaving Kíli to walk back to Gryffindor Tower all by himself right before curfew.

“Everything alright?” Tauriel was one of the few still lingering in the Gryffindor Common Room when Kíli walked in. Lounged in an armchair next to the fireplace, she looked exceptionally beautiful where her long flaming red hair matched the crackling fire, a treat no doubt from the House Elves for this chilly September night. Her emerald eyes were even more vivid with the fire reflected in it or was it just the fire that was always burning inside her, making her such a fierce and brave witch.

“Kíli?” Tauriel’s voice dragged Kíli out of his trance. Feeling utterly embarrassed, Kíli quickly nodded. “Yeah, I’m fine. Nothing to worry about.”

“Are you sure?” Tauriel was not so easily fooled. “You look tired and troubled. Whatever it is, you can talk to me about it, you know?”

“I…” Kíli did not know what to say. He sat down tentatively at the armchair next to Tauriel. It was such a new experience for him, talking to someone other than Fíli about his feelings. But he supposed he could not talk to Fíli about it since it concerned him. Tauriel was nice and trustworthy and had always looked out for him since he first came to Hogwarts. She was also a girl, who was supposedly better at this kind of thing. Perhaps she really could help.

“I, it’s just that I feel like, I don’t know…” Even though Kíli had decided to confide in Tauriel, he still found it hard to put his thoughts in words. Would Tauriel think him childish or even selfish? When he chanced a look, however, all he could see was the beautiful smile on Tauriel’s face, full of encouragement and understanding. So he took a deep breath and carried on. “I feel like Fíli and I are, I dunno, I don’t want to say growing apart because that’s just silly but I don’t really get to see him much since the start of the term. He’s always busy and so am I. With the extra classes and Quidditch practice, we just don’t have much time together. And when we do, we’re only ever doing homework. I just…”

“It’s okay, Kíli,” Tauriel leaned forward and patted Kíli gently on the hand. “I understand how you feel. Fíli is your best friend, someone you completely trust and feel most comfortable with. You’ve been inseparable since your first day in Hogwarts, which I’m telling you is quite rare for two from different Houses. But like you said, you get busy. Life gets in the way and we can’t do everything we want like we used to. It doesn’t mean you’ll grow apart though. Arwen and I are very close but we don’t get to spend much time together, especially after she started going out with Aragorn. But it doesn’t matter when it comes to true friendship. I know what kind of person she is and I can trust her with all my secrets, even my life. She’s always there for me when I need her the most and that’s what counts. You and Fíli have been through so much together already. Don’t let something as stupid as additional classes and Quidditch make you question your friendship and the bond you share.”

Kíli never knew that Arwen and Tauriel were that close but he guessed it made sense. Arwen’s gentle nature and Tauriel’s fiery temperament complemented each other well. Tauriel’s speech made Kíli feel a lot better because it made sense. He and Fíli cared about each other too much to let something trivial stand in their way. They just needed to get used to their new schedules. Once they did, they would be able to form a new routine and everything would be fine.

“Thank you so much, Tauriel,” said Kíli sincerely. “That really helped. I guess I was just being stupid.”

“Of course not,” smiled Tauriel. “Your reaction is completely normal. I went through the same phase when Arwen first started going out with Aragorn and he for the longest time thought I was in love with Arwen,” she laughed. “But once we talked about it, everything’s fine. I’m sure you and Fíli will be fine too.”

“Yeah,” nodded Kíli. “Still, I need to thank you for listening and talking to me. It’s so nice to have someone else to talk to.”

“No problem,” Tauriel rose from her seat and patted Kíli on the shoulder. “I’m glad I am of some help. You can always find me if you want to talk, you know? You’ve got friends other than Fíli too. We all care about you, Kíli.”

That night, Kíli went to bed with a smile on his face. Not only did he feel better about the situation between him and Fíli, but he realised that Tauriel was right. He had got friends within and outside Gryffindor, other than Fíli, others that cared about him, others that he could trust. It must be one of the most wonderful feelings in the world.

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Kíli had to wait until the last week of October for his first Hogsmeade weekend. The fact that he had been so overwhelmed with school work and Quidditch training only made him more anxious to get away from the castle for a while. This sentiment was apparently shared amongst all third years because everyone was finding the added workload hard to handle.

“I swear,” cried Ori, throwing his  _ Unfogging the Future _ on their favourite table in the library, which was very uncharacteristic of the studious bookworm, “if I have to write another prediction based on my tea leaves, I'm going to choke Nori with my bare hands!”

“At least you can choke Professor Nori and get away with it,” said Fíli darkly, “Mister Dori will protect you. Come to think of it, he might be secretly glad. I can't exactly do the same to uncle though, can I? I mean, a 5-foot-long essay on Shrinking Potions?!”

“That is a bit excessive,” frowned Kíli. “Professor Thorin doesn't usually set such long essays. Is everything okay?”

“I haven't talked to uncle about anything of significance for what feels like ever,” answered Fíli moodily. “Actually, I barely see him. Whenever I do, he doesn't look like he is in the mood for much discussion.”

Kíli could see that himself since Thorin had been in a foul mood since the beginning of the term. Thanks to their much-improved relationship, Thorin no longer took his frustrations on Kíli. To everyone's surprise, Thorin did not appear outwardly harsh or abrasive towards any students. Instead, he chose to manifest his mood via sour face, long essays and even stricter grading, which made Kíli guess that the source of Thorin’s bad mood was much more severe and significant, possibly tied to the current situation in the Wizarding world.

“I'm sure this will make us better Potioneers,” said Ori bracingly, ever so optimistic. “I had to read a lot more on Potions and that certainly helped my understanding of the topic.”

“Yeah that's all fine and dandy,” snapped Fíli, who seemed determined to be in a foul mood. “But Potions is not my only class. On top of all that work, I've got 2 books to read and discuss for Quenya, and 3 pages of calculation for Arithmancy!”

“I'm glad I just need to help Professor Dáin look after his magical beasts,” Gimli was maybe the only one not overly stressed. Instead of working hard on his homework, he was all done and lounging in his chair lazily, lingering in the library only to keep them company.

“That's because you've decided to take two soft options,” said Fíli acidly, “my life would've been a lot easier if I take filler classes like Muggle Studies.”

Gimli scowled but Ori put a hand on his arm to stop his retort, which Kíli deemed very wise. Fíli had been on a short fuse since the start of the term due to the stress level. Initiating a debate with him on school workload was most certainly ill-advised.

“Are you okay?” asked Ori quietly after they went back to work, his big brown eyes filled with concern. “You look drained and I think it's more than just school work.”

“I…” Kíli looked around helplessly. Gimli had left his seat, possibly out of boredom, to either explore the library or get some food. Fíli, on the other hand, was so immersed in his work that he was completely oblivious to what was going on around him. There was no one to save Kíli from Ori’s questioning. If it were up to him, Kíli desperately wanted to pretend that everything was fine but he simply could not do that to Ori’s sincere face. “I just haven't been sleeping well is all.”

The knowing look Ori gave him made Kíli feel both concerned and relieved. “So sleeping without Fíli’s still doesn't work for you, huh?”

“No,” sighed Kíli as he shot a longing look in Fíli’s direction, who still had his eyes glued to his Quenya textbook. Fíli had stopped coming over to the Gryffindor Tower about two weeks into the term. Kíli could not exactly blame him. The long study hours and late-night Quidditch training made it almost impossible, although Kíli had a sneaky feeling that Fíli’s need for undisturbed rest played a big part in the current situation too.

“I heard that Professor Thorin’s been having trouble with nightmares too,” said Ori and Kíli looked up quickly. Was he sharing the same dream with Thorin again? Somehow it felt strangely intimate and of great significance that he could not grasp. Fíli had never provided him with a satisfactory answer on that matter and he wondered if Ori knew more. Ori was, after all, a certified bookworm. “Do you know anything about people sharing dreams?” asked Kíli in a low whisper.

“Sharing dreams?” Ori’s eyes widened. “That's extremely rare. I've read about it but only in passing. I think it only happened a handful of times in history. Why?”

“Nothing,” said Kíli quickly. As much as he trusted Ori, it did not feel right to divulge the information to him. “Just curious.”

“I can read more about it if you want.” One of the best things about Ori was that he would never push or probe when you wanted to keep something secret. He was simply too kind and respectful for that. So Kíli nodded gratefully. “That would be great. Thanks a million, Ori. You’re honestly the best.”

Ori laughed. “Thanks, Kíli. But I think we all know who the best is for you and that’s certainly not me.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I apologise in advance for the teenage drama lol (sorry but not sorry).


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> With the hectic schedule of the new school year, Kíli could not wait for his first Hogsmeade weekend. The trip, however, turned out to be more emotional than Kíli had expected.

In the morning of the last Saturday of October, everyone, or at least everyone from the third year, was getting impatient at breakfast. Even Fíli, who had been so wound up this term, ate his breakfast with a rare relaxed and excited smile.

“We should go to the Shrieking Shack first,” said Fíli. “It’s supposed to be the most haunted building in Wizarding Britain. Then we can stop by Honeydukes to get some sweets.”

“You all need to go to Zonko’s,” added Lindir who was sitting at the Gryffindor table that morning. The mischievous gleam in his eyes made Kíli’s sense flare up in alert. Whatever was in Zonko’s could not be any good. “There are so many joke products that it’s Alfrid’s worst nightmare. I swear the evil twins must live there, judging by the number of products they have purchased from them.”

“I thought the evil twins are trying to open up their own joke shop,” Kíli remembered the evil twins’ other career ambition apart from playing Quidditch professionally. “Are they still planning on that?”

“Of course they are,” added Tauriel, who had just seated herself across the table from Kíli. “The evil twins may not look it but once they set their minds to something, they don’t give up. They’re planning to open their first joke shop in Hogsmeade, I know, they're very ambitious, so they’re visiting Zonko’s all the time partly to assess the competition.”

“They tried to sell me a canary cream the other day,” grinned Fíli. “It’s supposed to turn you into a canary for 10 minutes after you eat it. It’s quite a wonderful joke idea actually.”

“Make sure you end the day with some nice food and drinks in the Three Broomsticks,” suggested Tauriel. “They’ve got amazing butterbeer. I can’t wait until I’m of age to try their Fire Whiskeys.”

“You can always ask the evil twins for some help,” sniggered Lindir. “Just stay clear of Aragorn when you do and you’ll be fine.”

With these sound suggestions in mind, Kíli and Fíli set out to Hogsmeade after breakfast. Lady Galadriel and Lord Elrond collected their Hogsmeade approval forms before they left. Most of the third years got the approval forms signed and anticipation was running high.

“Ouch!” cried Kíli when he was pushed roughly from behind. Had it not been Fíli’s arm, he would have tripped and tumbled down the long staircases.

“Bolg…” Fíli’s face darkened when he saw the Half-Orc’s ugly face, “what in the name of Mahal do you think you’re doing?”

“Sorry,” said Bolg with a fake smile that looked more like a sneer, “I wasn’t looking. Just too excited to go into Hogsmeade. Surely you can understand.”

Kíli glared at Bolg but he could not say anything. He was sure Bolg pushed him on purpose but it was not a particularly nasty attack. Since there was no one else around to witness this, Bolg was unlikely to get into trouble for a small push and shove. Grabbing Fíli’s arm, Kíli left the staircases as quickly as possible with Bolg laughing cruelly in the background.

“We should have reported him,” said Fíli angrily. “Bolg keeps getting away with things like this, which needs to stop.”

“Nobody will do anything about it though,” sighed Kíli. “It’s not like he has attacked you. Besides, Azog is now on the school board. He’s not going to punish his son for something trivial like this.”

Despite Thorin and Gandalf’s best effort, they had only succeeded in thwarting part of Azog’s plan. The Wizengamot had ruled that all the former Death Eaters were not allowed back on to the Wizengamot due to lack of evidence of their rehabilitation. Even though it was a small victory for Thorin and Gandalf for now, for someone like Azog, this did not completely rule out their chances of being reinstated back to their seats in the Wizengamot if they could somehow trick the examiner into believing that they were sufficiently reformed in the future. Azog was even more successful in his other front, because he had managed to convince, using questionable methods for sure, thought Kíli bitterly, the majority of the Hogwarts board members to allow him to join the school board. Gandalf and Thorin’s objection was overruled by the majority vote, leaving Azog free to join the school board and influence the operations of the school.

“At least he hasn’t done anything yet,” said Fíli bracingly, even though Kíli could tell from the look in his eyes that he was concerned. “None of the school rules has changed and from what uncle has told me, Azog just sits quietly during the board meetings most of the time.”

Knowing Azog, Kíli thought he was most likely just biding his time so he could lure the rest of the board members into a false sense of security. When the time was right, however, Kíli had no doubt that Azog would strike without any reservation. There was nothing they could do at this point, however. Determined not to let Bolg or Azog dampen his spirit, he smiled at Fíli and they continued to Hogsmeade, talking about Quidditch and other more pleasant topics.

Their first stop was, as Fíli suggested, the Shrieking Shack. It was set on a hill near the Hogsmeade village and looked like nothing more than an abandoned house. The perimeter of the hill was boarded up so Kíli could not go up to explore, which was a real shame for he desperately wanted to see what a haunted house in the Wizarding world looked like, especially since ghosts were such a common occurrence in Hogwarts.

“There’s no way in or out of the house,” said Fíli, who had clearly been here before. “Nobody knows how to get in, not to mention what it looks like inside.”

“How is it haunted then?” asked Kíli curiously.

“People used to hear hissing and someone talking in a high-pitched voice from inside the house,” said Fíli. “It usually happens at night. Someone was brave enough to sneak uphill to investigate during the day. Since there were no doors or even windows, they couldn’t see inside. But when they pressed their ears to the wall, they heard absolutely nothing. No sign of life whatsoever. They have also stayed outside at night but they have never seen anyone come in or out of the house. So rumour has it that it is haunted and whatever creature that plagues this place only appears at night.”

“Wouldn’t it be interesting to find out what haunts the Shrieking Shack?” said Kíli, remembering their adventure the year before. “Maybe we can solve another mystery of Hogwarts.”

“Don’t be daft,” said Fíli seriously. “We haven’t got time for this. Besides, it’s not even inside Hogwarts. How can we possibly come here all the time to investigate?”

“Oh, right,” said Kíli, feeling suddenly low. It was not that he was serious about solving the mystery of the Shrieking Shack. He could not care less about what happened inside the haunted house, particularly because it did not seem to do anyone any harm. The fact that Fíli dismissed his idea so quickly still hurt though.

“Let’s go to Honeydukes,” said Fíli in an all-too-cheery voice. While his smile was just a tad exaggerated, Fíli did evade Kíli’s eyes. This made Kíli feel a bit better because at least Fíli was not oblivious to his mood changes. Smiling at his best friend, Kíli nodded. “Absolutely, lead the way.”

Honeydukes was as magnificent as everyone described it to be, if not more. Kíli had never seen a place filled with so many wonderful and magical sweets and treats. The moment he walked into the shop, which was packed with Hogwarts students that they had to fight their way in, all his senses were assaulted with the sugary and citrusy smell and shelves upon shelves of colourful sweets in all shapes and forms. Some were even floating in the air, ready for the eager students to grab. In addition to the usual ones such as Bertie Bott's Every-Flavour Beans and Chocolate Frog, Kíli also spotted some wands made out of chocolate, green toads that looked ready to hop, and small white mice sitting there, looking docile.

“Try this Sugar Quill,” said Fíli excitedly as he thrust a sweet that had an uncanny resemblance to a real quill to Kíli’s hand. “You can pretend to write with it while in fact sucking on it during class and nobody is any the wiser.”

“Cool,” Kíli was beyond impressed. The only thing he could liken this place to was Willy Wonka’s Chocolate Factory but surely even that paled in comparison to Honeydukes. “How much does this cost?”

“I’ve got it,” said Fíli quickly and before Kíli could say another word, he had already grabbed a handful of the Sugar Quills before heading to the checkout.

The rest of their stay in Honeydukes remained pretty much the same. Kíli tried to stop Fíli from paying for his sweets but Fíli would have none of it. In the end, Kíli gave up. The sweets did not cost that much anyway and he supposed it was his friend’s way of saying sorry for what he had said earlier.

Their bags laden with sweets, Kíli and Fíli made their way to Zonko’s. Not surprisingly, they found Lindir and the evil twins inside. All three of them looked completely engrossed, though in different things. While Lindir was shoving all the joke products into his bag as if his life depended on it, the evil twins were inspecting the products closely while discussing animatedly with each other.

“Hello,” Kíli greeted the evil twins cheerfully. Both of them turned around and beamed when they saw Kíli.

“Morning, our young Gryffindor,” said one of the twins, possibly Elladan, “what brings you here to Zonko’s on this fine Saturday?”

“Why indeed!” cried Elrohir dramatically. “We have our next generation of troublemakers, surely!”

“Oh, to see the fresh blood grow!” Elladan wiped away the nonexistent tear from his eyes. “Our time is truly here, brother.”

“Knock it off,” laughed Kíli. “We’re just here to look around. We may not even buy anything.”

“Oh no!” cried Elrohir as he clutched his chest as if physically wounded by Kíli’s reply. “He has been corrupted by the establishment by means of the young Fíli. We have lost a valuable member of the troublemakers.”

“Fret not, my brother,” Elladan grabbed his twin’s hand firmly. “I am sure our young brother is not completely lost. There is still time to salvage him and we shall not rest until he is freed from the evil clutches of the authority.”

With the evil twins around, it was hard to say which was more fascinating, the joke products or the antics of the twins. By the end of their visit, even Fíli was laughing as if he had no care in the world.

“I’m famished,” declared Kíli as his stomach growled loudly. “Shall we go somewhere for food and drinks?”

The Three Broomsticks was already filled with people, including many that Kíli recognised. He could spot Arwen and Aragorn sitting in a quiet table in the corner, holding hands and…

“Oi!” cried Elrohir loudly as he marched towards Arwen and Aragorn. “Hands off my sister!”

“Boys,” said Tauriel, who had just arrived at the Three Broomsticks with a couple of her girlfriends, “you’d think they are used to it by now, considering that Aragorn has been snogging Arwen for the past three years.”

“She’s still our baby sister,” said Elladan, even though he was fighting not to laugh too. “It comes with the territory. You’ve got to hate whoever that lays a hand on your sister on principle.”

“That’s the problem of having overprotective big brothers,” smirked Tauriel, yet Kíli thought he could detect a fleeting sense of longing in Tauriel’s beautiful green eyes. “You either snog in secret or get your boyfriend killed.”

“Speaking of snogging,” Elladan’s eyes lit up with mischief, “you and Cedric Diggory were looking pretty cosy last year. Still seeing him now that he’s graduated?”

“Mind your own business!” snapped Tauriel as her face turned pink. “Whatever Cedric and I do or did is none of your con…”

“Tauriel!” Cedric Diggory chose exactly that moment to walk through the door. Tauriel closed her eyes in mortification while Elladan and Lindir chortled with laughter. Fíli was grinning too but Kíli felt a strange twinge as he saw the handsome and very tall former Hufflepuff Chaser and Captain greet Tauriel with great enthusiasm. Despite her annoyance at Elladan and Lindir, Tauriel beamed at Cedric and they soon left to find a table, clearly eager to catch up after a couple of months apart.

“Everything alright?” Fíli’s question finally made Kíli tear his gaze away from Tauriel. He could see that Fíli was no longer grinning now. Instead, the frown on Fíli’s face was most curious. Shrugging, he followed Fíli to find their table near the window. The arrival of hot delicious food and foaming butterbeer finally took Kíli’s mind off anything else. Both of them dug in and ate with gusto until…

“Uncle!”

Thorin had just walked in through the front door. There was no sign of Dwalin or anyone else next to him. Exchanging a quick look with Kíli, Fíli waved at his uncle, who nodded and made his way through the crowd in the tavern to their table.

“Are you hungry, uncle? Would you like some food, some butterbeer maybe?” Fíli had to scoot closer to Kíli to make room for Thorin, who sat down heavily and nodded without a word to Fíli’s suggestions. Once Fíli had got up from the table to order more food for Thorin, Kíli could finally see his Potions Professor properly. Even though he still looked dignified and regal, his hair impeccably-braided, Thorin also had heavy bags under his eyes, telling Kíli that the past couple of months had not been easy for the leader of the Dwarves.

“Is everything okay, sir?” asked Kíli tentatively. He was not sure if his relationship with Thorin, admittedly much improved, could warrant such a question. To his surprise, the look Thorin gave him was more contemplative than angry.

“It’s been a long week,” said Thorin finally after a long pause. “There have been reports of damage in the castle, including various storage rooms and my office. We think it’s most likely caused by a Niffler.”

“We lost a Niffler during our first Care of Magical Creatures lesson,” said Kíli in alarm. “We thought it just ran away into the Forbidden Forest.”

Thorin gave Kíli a sharp look. “Did you know who did not hand in their Niffler?”

“No,” Kíli shook his head, feeling embarrassed. Even though it was technically Gimli’s job to gather all the Nifflers, Kíli felt that he had failed Thorin somehow. “Professor Dáin went to investigate the disturbance in the Forest, which he thought was the Acromantulas,” Thorin cursed loudly at that, “and asked Gimli to gather the Nifflers and finish the class. Everyone was dying to escape the class so it was a bit chaotic. By the time we realised that we were one Niffler short, everyone had already left. I’m sorry.”

“It’s not your fault,” said Thorin gruffly. “I thought Dáin should have more common sense but it’s neither here nor there, I suppose. But that explains the wreckage inside the castle then.”

Kíli hesitated. He wondered if he should tell Thorin his suspicions. Had it been Dwalin, he would not have hesitated a second. It was not that he did not trust Thorin. He was just unsure if Thorin would take him seriously as Dwalin would. Thorin, however, seemed to read his mind.

“You have some ideas, don’t you?” asked Thorin, his intense gaze fixed on Kíli, making him fidget. “You can tell me what you think. I won’t judge.”

“Right,” said Kíli, still feeling slightly uncomfortable. He wondered what had taken Fíli so long. He would feel a lot more at ease with Fíli next to him. “Bolg was in the class. Maybe he had taken the Niffler.”

To his great relief, Thorin did not laugh or get angry at Kíli’s hypothesis. Instead, he tapped his finger on his chin, looking pensive. When Kíli prompted him, Thorin finally said, “thank you for sharing the information with me, Kíli. I’ll look into that.”

Encouraged by the positive feedback, Kíli was feeling pretty daring. “Is that all that’s bothering you, sir? You look knackered.”

Again, Thorin did not answer immediately. When he did speak, however, Kíli knew somehow that Thorin was telling the truth. “I am pretty tired, yes. I haven’t had the best sleep as of late.”

Kíli bit his lower lip. He knew of course what had been plaguing Thorin. He himself had shared some of Thorin’s nightmares since the start of the term. But did he dare to reveal this to Thorin? He still did not understand why he could see into Thorin’s dreams. How would Thorin take this strange connection between them? Or was Thorin aware of it already, being knowledgeable as he always was? In the end, curiosity and the desire to share his thoughts won. At the very least, Thorin was probably the only few who could truly understand how he felt.

“Did you dream of my mum and dad?” asked Kíli. He was immediately glad that Fíli had not come back with food and drinks because the reaction from Thorin was surprisingly strong. Choking and coughing violently, Thorin could not speak until Kíli thumped him hard on the back to ease his discomfort. When he had finally found his voice, Thorin sounded highly alarmed, “How did you know what I have dreamt of?”

Based on Thorin’s reaction, Kíli was almost certain that the truth would be most unfavourable to Thorin. He did not possess, however, the ability to lie under Thorin’s piercing blue eyes. So he simply looked down and mumbled, “I had the same dream.”

“What do you mean you have the same dream?” Thorin’s voice was an octave higher, which gave Kíli every reason for concern. Yet he had no choice but to tell Thorin the truth. So he did. He told Thorin how he had shared Thorin’s dream about the night he found out about Kíli’s parents’ murder.

“So you saw Frerin and Melian’s bodies?” Thorin’s voice was falsely calm and tightly controlled, which was even more concerning than his previous surprised tone. “What else have you seen?”

“I…” Kíli felt both hurt and confused. Why was Thorin talking to him like this? He thought Thorin, of all people, would be able to truly understand and sympathise with him. “I didn’t see their bodies. The dream always stops after the door to their bedroom was open. I could feel your emotions but I didn’t see what happened inside. I think it might be a self-preservation thing. I don’t think my subconscious brain wants to see my parents’ dead bodies.” It was hard not to sound accusatory but that was how Kíli felt at Thorin’s callous questioning.

The look on Thorin’s face softened and for once he looked guilty. “I see. It makes sense then, I suppose. It must be a very traumatic experience for you.”

Kíli did not know if he should find Thorin’s response upsetting or funny. He knew Thorin well enough to realise that Thorin was just being stubbornly, well, Thorin, in that he would hardly apologise unless he had made a grievous mistake. On the other hand, Kíli had hoped that Thorin could at least acknowledge the fact that he had hurt Kíli’s feelings. In the end, Kíli gave up. He simply nodded and remained silent. It was not that he was being petulant, Kíli told himself as he saw Thorin struggling to find a topic to break the uncomfortable silence, but he did have a reason to be upset. They sat in silence for another minute or so until Fíli’s arrival with food and drinks.

“It’s madness over there,” panted Fíli, trying his hardest to balance the tray laden with food and thus thankfully oblivious to the tension between his friend and uncle. “It took me ages to get my hands on some food and drinks. I get you some good ale, uncle. I reckon you’d prefer that to the butterbeer.”

“Aye,” said Thorin as he grabbed the large pint of strong ale and drank heartily until half of it was gone. After the conversation with Thorin, Kíli felt that most of his appetite was gone. Luckily, Fíli took over the conversation, leaving Kíli free to look around to observe the other patrons of the tavern.

Several tables away, Tauriel was talking animatedly with Cedric. Unlike Arwen and Aragorn, who were huddled close together with their hands clasped the whole time, Tauriel and Cedric sat with a respectable distance between them, talking animatedly like close friends rather than lovers. Just when Kíli was feeling relieved and elated about this discovery, he saw Tauriel leaned into Cedric to lock their lips together in a passionate kiss, which plummeted Kíli’s spirit.

“Everything alright?” Fíli’s question nearly made Kíli jump. Focusing his attention back to the table, he could see that his little lapse of attention did not go unnoticed. Neither Fíli nor Thorin looked happy about it, which surprised Kíli. He thought they were having a fine conversation by themselves so his engagement was surplus to requirements.

“Everything’s fine,” said Kíli as he shook himself mentally so he could resist the temptation to spy on Tauriel and Cedric like a creeper stalker. Fíli was telling Thorin about how he was handling his school work and Quidditch training. Thorin listened with rapt attention as Fíli went into great detail about homework, which Kíli was sure would bore Thorin to tears. Yet Thorin seemed genuinely interested in learning about the day-to-day life of his nephew, not just as the leader of the Dwarves, but as a loving uncle. Kíli watched in fascination as Thorin answered all of Fíli’s questions, however trivial, with great patience and barely concealed pride. Kíli did not know how he felt witnessing this. On one hand, it warmed his heart to see the normally reserved Thorin show his affectionate side. On the other, it served as a painful reminder of what he was missing himself.

It was already 3 o’clock by the time they had finished their late lunch. Thorin had excused himself to go back to the castle while Kíli and Fíli dawdled in Hogsmeade a bit longer. It was hard to leave the fascinating village, especially on such a nice day, which might very well be the very last one of the year. Kíli only agreed to go back after he saw Tauriel and Cedric sharing a nonverbal yet very meaningful farewell outside a tea shop called Madam Puddifoot's.

“Do you want to play some wizard’s chess tonight?” asked Kíli as he and Fíli made their way leisurely back to the castle, savouring the beauty of the Scottish autumn. He knew he probably should get started on some of his homework but the thought of it had never been less appealing.

“Sorry, I can’t,” sighed Fíli. “The Ravenclaw Quidditch team is meeting tonight to discuss tactics. The Hufflepuff team has gone through quite some changes this year, with both Haldir and Cedric gone. Besides, it’s Arwen’s first year as Quidditch Captain so she’s getting nervous.”

“Right,” Kíli knew this was not Fíli’s fault but still it felt like a blow. “I’ll see what Gimli’s up to then.”

Gimli, as it turned out, was busy helping Dáin with the magical creatures. Even Ori wasn’t around because he was in Gloín’s office, discussing a mistake he had made in his Arithmancy homework. Kíli, therefore, found himself alone by himself after dinner. Despite the amount of homework he had, Kíli had decided to pay Dwalin a visit instead, something he had wanted to do since their Boggart lesson.

“Hello, laddie! I was beginning to wonder if yeh have disappeared,” Dwalin’s booming voice and wide smile made Kíli feel instantly better. Once he was inside Dwalin’s office, Kíli could not help but throw himself into Dwalin’s broad chest. It was only then did he realise how draining the past two months had been, with his nightmares, extra workload, his strained friendship with Fíli, and everything else going on in his life. Dwalin seemed to understand Kíli perfectly well for he simply tightened his embrace while rubbing soothing circles on Kíli’s back.

“Everything alright, laddie? Anything yeh want to talk about?” asked Dwalin after Kíli had finally disentangled himself from his Defence Against the Dark Arts professor. Kíli hesitated. Should he tell Dwalin everything? He trusted Dwalin with his life but surely Dwalin had better things to do than listening to his moaning.

“Yeh can always come to talk to me, yeh know?” Dwalin smiled as he passed Kíli a cup of tea, which was made exactly the way Kíli liked it, a cube of sugar with a dash of milk. Somehow, this cup of tea made Kíli’s throat close up. He wondered how something so mundane could have such an effect on him.

“I…” Kíli took a deep breath and said, “I overheard something last year, something about my parents.”

The easy smile on Dwalin’s face vanished immediately. Kíli looked with concern as Dwalin’s face darkened. Before he could ask though, Dwalin spoke first, “So yeh have heard what happened the night they were murdered?”

“How did you…”

“Thorin confided in me his concerns for yer safety, naturally. He wanted me to keep an eye on yeh during the school year in case someone tries to hurt yeh.”

“Was that why you didn’t let me face the Boggart?”

Dwalin put his cup down and rubbed his face. “Yes. I did not realise that yeh already knew what happened that night but when I saw the look on yer face, I thought maybe yeh still remembered something from that night even though yeh were just a baby. I didn’t want to risk it nor do I want to put yeh through more stress. I just wanted to protect yeh.”

Kíli was not sure how he felt about this. On one hand, he was touched by Thorin and Dwalin’s consideration for his safety, both physical and mental. On the other hand, he felt like a little kid who needed to be looked after. He was perfectly capable of taking care of himself. He was the one who fought a Basilisk, wasn’t he? Surely he could handle his fellow students. This was not his pressing concern, however. He had other things he wanted to talk to Dwalin about.

“You have never told me what happened to my parents.” Kíli tried not to sound accusatory but it was a fact and he thought he knew why. Yet still, he wanted to hear Dwalin’s reasoning from Dwalin himself.

Dwalin looked around uncomfortably as if looking for a way out of this conversation. But Kíli was not about to give up. He needed to talk about it. Since he could not do it with Thorin, Dwalin was his only hope. Seeing that Kíli was determined to get to the bottom of it, Dwalin had to concede defeat. “Very well, laddie. We’ll talk about what had happened.” He picked up his cup and took a hearty gulp before continuing, “I debated if I should tell yeh what had happened to yer parents when I went to deliver the letter to yeh but both Gandalf and Thorin talked me out of it. They said yeh were too young and it’d be too much to take in on the day when yeh learnt yeh were a wizard. I had to agree. Telling yeh the details of yer parents’ murder on top of everything else that day would just overwhelm yeh.”

That did make sense. Kíli tried to imagine how that conversation would go and concluded that he would probably have lost it because it was just too much information. But still, “You never told me afterwards though.”

Dwalin closed his eyes and sighed, “No, I didn’t. Not because I want to hide the information from yeh, but because I don’t want yeh to be upset. I’ve learnt to care about yeh and when I saw yeh so happy at Hogwarts, I don’t want to break this terrible news to yeh. Yeh’re so like yer parents, yeh know? Yeh’re just as brave and lively as Frerin and just as kind and sweet as Melian. It sometimes hurts to see yeh resemble them so much. But yeh cannot imagine our relief that yeh’re safe and happy. We’d all do whatever it takes to keep it that way, all of us, Gandalf, Thorin, myself…”

Kíli opened his mouth but no words came out. He could feel his throat constrict with emotion. When he finally found his voice, he could only mutter a feeble “sorry”.

“Don’t yeh apologise, laddie!” said Dwalin firmly. “None of this is yer fault.”

“I didn’t mean to press you. I wasn’t trying to…” Kíli looked down sheepishly. “I knew you must have a good reason but I just…”

“Yeh just want to know and talk about it,” said Dwalins with a sad smile. “I understand. Maybe I should’ve told yeh sooner. It must be better than finding out about it the way you did.”

“Can you tell me more about my parents, about how they were killed?” asked Kíli because he simply could not help himself. He knew that learning the details of his parents’ death was unlikely to help rid him of his nightmare. If anything, it would only make it worse. Yet, on the other hand, Kíli felt that he had an obligation to know everything about his parents so he could honour their memory properly.

Dwalin pursed his lips and frowned. But when Kíli looked at him straight in the eye with pleading looks, he swallowed hard and looked away before saying, “I don’t know all the details. Nobody but those murdering bastards do. But anyway, Melian begged me to take yeh that night because it was her and Frerin’s 5th wedding anniversary. She may appear to be quiet and serene to the outside world but we all know that Melian is a hopeless romantic full of passion. She wanted a special night with Frerin so they could celebrate properly. I didn’t really want to because, well, never mind. But Melian pleaded with me and I could never say no to her. So I picked yeh up before dinner. Melian promised me that she’d floo over and pick yeh up before 10 o’clock. We had a great time together with yer toy broom. Yeh were a great laddie and a brilliant flyer even back then. Then 10 o’clock came and went yet there was no sign of Melian. I floo-called yer house at 10:30 but everything was pitch black inside the sitting room and nobody was answering when I called for Melian or Frerin. So I began to get seriously worried. Since I had got yeh, I couldn’t go to yer house to check so I sent a message to Thorin to ask him to check on Melian. Yeh were already asleep at that time, bless yeh, but I simply could not sit still. I knew in my guts that something terrible had happened. When Thorin sent his message over, he pretty much confirmed my suspicion. He asked me to ensure yer safety before going over. I couldn’t find anyone else on such short notice so I took yeh with me. When I got there, Gandalf was there too so I knew it must be serious. Thorin wouldn’t let me take yeh inside, quite wise of him so I went inside myself and saw…” Dwalin’s voice broke. Tears started to form in the corner of his eyes, a sight so unbelievably rare that it almost alarmed Kíli. Dwalin, however, had no regard for his emotional state. Setting down the teacup sloppily on the tray, spilling some tea in the process, Dwalin wiped his eyes messily and got up. When he came back, the drink in his hand turned out to be a lot stronger. Taking a large gulp from the Firewhiskey bottle, Dwalin resumed his story.

“She was just lying there, in the middle of the floor, bloody and broken. Her eyes, her beautiful dark eyes that are usually filled with wisdom, kindness, and love, were simply lifeless and hollow. What those monsters had done to her! I…” Dwalin simply could not continue as large tears streamed down his face. He only came around after Kíli put a comforting hand on his strong muscled forearm. Taking another gulp, Dwalin shook his head. “I have never imagined they’d go like this. I mean, I couldn’t kid myself into thinking that all of us would live happily ever after. We were in a war for Mahal’s sake. But I had always imagined that it would be me, Thorin, or Frerin who’d go first, in a battlefield. I’m not saying that Melian’s not a fighter. She’s always been a great warrior herself and can pack a vicious curse more than all of us combined. But we had all tried our best to protect her, especially after she’s had yeh. She protested it, of course, saying that she could and wanted to fight with us. But both Frerin and I put our foot down. She needed to stay behind to look after yeh, we said. Yeh were a bit of a fussy baby so Melian gave in eventually. But she insisted on helping so we had been bringing those who were injured to her. She’s such a good Healer that she had saved so many lives on our side. They called her their Guardian Angel and Mahal’s beard were they correct! We thought we had managed to keep her safe that way yet still… If only I have worked harder to kill those bastards before they… or have put a better protective spell on yer house.”

“This isn’t your fault!” Now it was Kíli’s turn to console a distraught Dwalin. “You’ve done everything you could to protect my mum. Nobody knew the Death Eaters would target them!”

“I should have known!” exclaimed Dwalin, his voice even louder than usual, and he swayed on the spot. It was obvious that the strong alcohol was affecting him if the redness on his cheek and the slightly slurred words were anything to go by. “Frerin was a Durin, wasn’t he? I should’ve known that they’d target them.”

“You have no way of knowing,” said Kíli firmly. Wrestling the Firewhiskey bottle out of Dwalin’s hand, he guided Dwalin back to the sofa. “If you really want to go down that route, my dad was the one to blame. He married my mum and dragged her into all this.”

Shaking his head sadly, Dwalin muttered, “I know I shouldn’t but sometimes I hate yer dad a little for that. We’ve all failed her, every single one of us.”

“No, you didn’t,” Kíli knew he had to take control of the situation and he had an inkling how. “Look at me, Professor!”

When Dwalin looked up, Kíli lost no time in locking his dark eyes with Dwalin’s. The effect was immediate as the look in Dwalin’s eyes were filled first with shock but soon replaced with longing. Capitalising on that moment, Kíli said in a slow whisper, “It is not your fault, Professor. Melian forgives you. I forgive you. All we want is for you to forgive yourself and be happy.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Let me know what you think about the last part with Dwalin. I'm a bit nervous/unsure about it so I'd love to know what you think :)


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The first Quidditch match of the year brought more challenge to Kíli than ever before

By the time Kíli had managed to tuck a highly inebriated Dwalin to bed, it was already past curfew. Reluctantly, Kíli started to head back to the Gryffindor Tower. The evening did not exactly go as he had planned or even anticipated. But he did learn a little bit more about his parents, mostly his mum, and something he was not certain if he wanted to know. Even though Kíli could not be one hundred per cent certain, he felt that Dwalin had, in his drunken and highly emotional state, inadvertently revealed more than he would have done otherwise. Maybe he was reading too much into Dwalin’s drunk confession. Yet he could not help but wonder if Dwalin had been particularly kind to him because of his mother? He had always thought that Dwalin had taken a liking to him purely because of who he was. Now he was not so sure. Would Dwalin still see him as almost a son had he not been Melian’s only son?

So lost in his thought that Kíli practically ran over somebody when he turned the corner. Cursing loudly, Kíli hurried to check on the person that he had managed to knock to the ground, only to find himself face-to-face with a filthy-looking House Elf dressed in absolute rags.

“I’m so sorry,” cried Kíli, feeling even worse now because the House Elf looked so small and fragile. “I wasn’t looking. Are you hurt?”

“Bloody fine,” squeaked the little House Elf, who got up quickly before looking around frantically for something.

“I’m sorry?” Kíli was shocked at the little House Elf’s language. As far as he knew, House Elves were timid and obedient creatures who would never raise their voice at a wizard, let alone curse at one. Granted, he did run over the poor thing yet still.

“Bloody lose Master’s pet! Bad Bloody!”

“Oh,” sighed Kíli with relief, “so your name is Bloody. Interesting choice but I like it,” he added hastily, afraid that he might have offended the House Elf.

The little House Elf paid absolutely no attention to Kíli as he started running around the corner, looking everywhere for a pet. His frenzy was infectious for Kíli was getting nervous too. Desperate to help, Kíli started to look for this elusive pet too.

“What exactly is that pet? A toad? A cat?”

“It’s master’s pet!” wailed Bloody.

“Right,” said Kíli, trying his best to placate the distraught House Elf, “it’s okay. We’ll find it. It can’t get that far, can it? Let’s just… Oh, look!” Not far from them, hidden in a dark corner, was indeed a cat. Unfortunately, it was the cat of… “Oh, no, it’s Mister Lock. Never min…”

Kíli was shocked once more that night when Bloody almost burst into tears before rushing forward to Mister Lock. Kíli watched in amazement as Mister Lock reluctantly came out of its hiding place before jumping into Bloody’s little arms.

“So your master is Alfrid?” Kíli guessed it made sense. Bloody must be a Hogwarts House Elf so maybe he was Alfrid’s House Elf so he could help the Caretaker perform tasks that required magic. Besides, only someone like Alfrid would come up with a name as horrendous as Bloody.

Before the House Elf could answer, however, Mister Lock had unfortunately spotted Kíli. His ear flat against his head and hissing menacingly, he made a good attempt to launch himself at him, only to be stopped by Bloody’s surprisingly strong arms.

“Bloody need to go! I is to return the pet to master.” And with that, the little House Elf disappeared into the corridor with Mister Lock placed firmly on his chest.

In a way, Kíli supposed that he was lucky that Bloody was there with Mister Lock because he was sure that the cat, who had for some reason unknown to him harboured quite the ill-feeling towards him, would either attack him or run straight to Alfrid to report him had they been alone. Still, something felt off during this encounter. Why did Bloody look so filthy? All the other House Elves Kíli had met in the kitchen all looked presentable. Was it because Alfrid forced Bloody to do all his dirty work? Was he abusing Bloody, who looked petrified when he thought Mister Lock was missing? Kíli was still pondering those questions when he arrived outside the Gryffindor Tower.

“Hmm,” said the Fat Lady, the Portrait guarding the entrance to Gryffindor Common Room, “what kind of hours do you call this?”

“I’m sorry,” said Kíli for what felt like the umpteenth time that evening. “I was in Professor Dwalin’s office and he was drunk.”

“Ah,” the look on the Fat Lady’s face softened. “Of course, Dwalin and his Firewhiskey. Well, come in then and do be quiet. The whole House is asleep. Even your little friend has gone back to Ravenclaw Tower. I thought he’d never leave.”

“Fíli was here?” Kíli stopped dead in his tracks. He thought Fíli was busy with Quidditch that night.

“He sure was,” said the Fat Lady, “came here right before curfew. Said that he wanted to see you and practically begged me to let him in. I gave up in the end. He just looked so sincere.”

“Did he say why he wanted to see me?” Kíli simply could not believe it! Fíli had come to see him even after his gruelling Quidditch session yet he had missed his friend!

“Not to me,” shrugged the Fat Lady. “He seemed adamant so I supposed it was something important. He stayed inside for ages and only left when it was past 11 o’clock. I honestly thought you were inside with him talking about whatever you need to talk about.”

“I…” Kíli did not know what to say. On one hand, he was thrilled that Fíli had taken all this trouble to see him just because Kíli mentioned he wanted to spend some time with him. On the other hand, he felt incredibly guilty for letting Fíli come in vain and wait up so late. He needed to see Fíli the next morning and make up for it.

\----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Unfortunately for Kíli, he did not get to see Fíli the next day until much later because he was rudely awakened early the next morning by none other than Oliver Wood.

“What the hell?” mumbled Kíli, his eyes half-closed. As far as he could tell, it was still dark outside. Had Oliver finally lost the plot under the intense pre-match pressure?

“Wake up, Kíli!” Oliver grabbed Kíli by the shoulder and shook him, a slightly maniacal gleam in his eyes. “We’re off to a special practice in 15 minutes!”

“What?” Kíli could not believe his ears. Why on earth would Oliver want to hold a special training before daybreak when they were scheduled to train that morning after breakfast anyway?

“Up, now!” said Oliver firmly and he practically dragged Kíli out of bed.

Cursing angrily, Kíli got dressed reluctantly and followed Oliver out of his dormitory to the Gryffindor Common Room. He expected to see the whole team waiting disgruntled in the Common Room and was thus astonished and then incensed to see only the evil twins and Tauriel waiting there. What was this all about?

“We’re going to have a training session specifically for you before the regular training session starts,” explained Wood as if this was nothing out of the ordinary. Kíli begged to differ. “What the hell do you mean by training specifically for me? You think I’m that bad that I need…”

“We’ve just found out who the new Slytherin Beater is,” said Tauriel and Kíli whipped around to look at her. Even in this ungodly hour, she had managed to look effortlessly beautiful. “They have managed to keep it a secret until now.”

“Who is it?” Kíli had a very ominous feeling about this. He could only think of a few that would warrant such an occasion.

“Bolg Gundabad.”

It was, unfortunately, Kíli’s worst nightmare. He had found it taxing enough to be constantly alert around Bolg, particularly during Care of Magical Creatures lessons, that he was not sure if he could handle being in the proximity of Bolg with something as dangerous and deadly as a Bludger.

“Our thoughts exactly,” said Tauriel as if reading his mind. “We all know he has a history with you so it’s very likely he’ll specifically target you during the match.”

“Therefore we have agreed to give you some extra training,” continued Elladan with a cheeky smile, “to prepare you for what is to come during the first match against the Slytherin.”

“Don’t worry,” smirked Elrohir, which made all the hairs on the back of Kíli’s neck stand on end, “we won’t go too hard on you. You’ll still have some of your limbs left by the end of this special session.”

Brilliant, thought Kíli desperately. He had hardly slept for more than five hours, had no food and was starving, the sky was still dark and it was freezing outside, and he was supposed to be alert and quick enough to avoid being killed by two Bludgers sent to him by the evil twins. He was sure his hours were numbered.

“It’ll be fine,” said Tauriel, squeezing Kíli’s arm gently. “Oliver will be there to contain the twins.”

“What are you doing here then?” asked Kíli. “Not that I don’t appreciate it. It’s great to have you here. But you know, it’s so early, so I’m just curious.” He added quickly in case Tauriel got the wrong impression. She did not seem to mind at all as she waved her hand airily and laughed. “No worries. I volunteered because I thought you could use the moral support. And I figure that Oliver could use a hand in restraining the evil twins.”

“Oh,” said Kíli awkwardly. There were so many things he wanted to say to Tauriel, to thank her for her friendship and support, to express how grateful and relieved he felt that she was there. But his tongue simply refused to cooperate and all he could make was some gurgling sound. Luckily, Tauriel did not seem to mind, probably attributing his embarrassing reaction to nerves about the upcoming training. Patting him encouragingly on the back, Tauriel walked next to Kíli as they made their way together to the Quidditch Pitch, or in Kíli’s case, certain doom.

The special training was everything Kíli had expected, and more. The evil twins kept shooting Bludgers at him nonstop while Oliver tried his best to block, crash, and even punch Kíli while he was fleeing the Bludgers for his life. Towards the end of the training, Kíli was purely functioning on his instinct for he could no longer think or even react. Miraculously, he had only been hit twice during the entire training, none of which was serious enough to warrant an injury. Even though Oliver looked unhappy that Kíli was hit at all, Kíli himself felt quite proud of his achievements. The first hit happened early during the training when it was still dark and Kíli had barely warmed up. The second one only happened because Kíli was distracted by Tauriel who was cheering him on from the stands with the most beautiful smile he had ever seen. Her face was basked in the morning golden sunlight, giving her a sort of halo that seemed so otherworldly that it nearly took Kíli’s breath away. Surely anyone who had witnessed that sight of pure perfection would be equally distracted, rationalised Kíli as he dragged his exhausted limbs to the changing room.

“No need to get back to the castle,” chirped Oliver, who did not seem tired at all after such a gruelling session. “The real training session starts in 30 minutes and I’ve asked the team to bring some breakfast for us. Look, here they are.”

Sure enough, the rest of the team turned up in the changing room, laden with breakfast food. Normally this scene would cheer Kíli up but the prospect of another undoubtedly taxing training session only added to his dread. Wolfing down his breakfast quickly, Kíli was dismayed to find out that instead of filling him with energy, the food had made him more sluggish. Oliver, however, could not be stopped. Rising from his seat, he waved everyone over to start the training session. Looking hopelessly around for a way out, Kíli caught the eyes of Tauriel, who winked at him before calling out to Oliver. “Oi, Oli, I heard from Aragorn that Slytherin may not play Bolg after all.”

“What?” cried Oliver immediately while Aragorn looked confused.

“Yeah, Aragorn overheard the Slytherins talking during breakfast today, didn’t you?” said Tauriel as she kicked Aragorn, not so discreetly.

“Ouch, er, yeah.” Fortunately, Aragorn had caught on. “It sounds like this Bolg business is something they leaked to us on purpose and their tactics are actually totally different. I don’t know what to believe. Maybe this talk is a smokescreen, just to distract us?”

“I can’t believe this!” exclaimed Oliver, clutching his hair. “I’ve designed all my tactics around that! I must find out. Right, everyone, go warm up until I come back.”

“Now you can take a nap after breakfast,” said Tauriel with a triumphant smile once Oliver had disappeared from the changing room. “Here,” with a wave of the wand, she had transformed Oliver’s Keeper’s gloves into a fluffy pillow and a blanket.

“Thanks a million!” said Kíli gratefully. He felt both extremely relieved at the respite and somewhat guilty at lying to Oliver, who only wanted to win the Quidditch Cup in his last year. Tauriel, however, seemed to read his mind again. “It’s okay, Kíli. You’re clearly exhausted from the training earlier. If you don’t catch some sleep, your next training session will be rubbish. Oliver gets too carried away sometimes but this will only make the next session more efficient and productive.”

“Right,” Kíli could not help but beam at Tauriel. He still did not understand how someone could be so bright, beautiful, brave, and considerate at the same time. The fact that Tauriel had chosen to be his friend was one of the best things that had happened to him.

Just as Tauriel had predicted, Kíli felt much more revitalised after a 30-minute nap. Now filled with energy and determination to perform well in his first Quidditch match of the year, Kíli trained harder than ever with the team, dodging Bludgers and helping with the defence while on the constant lookout for the Snitch. He had managed to spot and catch the Snitch with 20 minutes in all their mock matches, a feat nobody had achieved during her time, according to Tauriel. The training session was so good that even Oliver, who was perpetually dissatisfied and obsessive when it came to Quidditch, ended it with a big smile.

“Well done, lads,” beamed Oliver proudly. “As long as we play the matches with the same level of intensity and determination as we have demonstrated during today’s training, we have nothing to worry about.”

Kíli’s spirits were thus high when he walked into the Great Hall for lunch, chatting and laughing with Tauriel and the rest of the team. The thoughts of Fíli’s visit last night had been completely wiped out of his mind until he spotted Fíli at the Ravenclaw table next to Arwen. Unfortunately, Fíli did not seem to share Kíli’s festive mood, as he was frowning when he spotted Kíli and Tauriel.

“Ah,” said Kíli, feeling guilty about what happened last night now that he remembered it, “Excuse me, Tauriel, I have to…”

“Talk to Fíli,” Tauriel finished his sentence for him with a grin. “Of course! Great practice today and see you later.”

Before Kíli could reach the table, however, he was again waylaid by a Gryffindor 4th Year girl that Kíli knew by face but never by name. With her large dark eyes, long curly black hair, and a rather prominent chin, the girl walked with an air of confidence bordering on arrogance. This impression was only confirmed when she opened her mouth. “Hi, I’m Romilda Vane. You must be Kíli Durin.”

“Er, yes,” said Kíli distractedly. The frown on Fíli’s face was growing bigger and Kíli could not wait to get to his friend’s side.

“I watched your training today and you were amazing!” Romilda, however, was not so easily deterred. Holding out her hand, she practically grabbed Kíli’s when Kíli did not respond. “Come and sit with us! We want to hear more about the Quidditch practice.”

“But I…” Kíli’s protest was cut short when Romilda jerked him forward to the Gryffindor table where he was instantly surrounded by a group of girls. All of them were giggling and none paid any attention when he said that he needed to go. In the end, it was Tauriel who came to save the day again.

“Alright ladies,” said the beautiful Chaser though there was a hint of steel behind her sweet smile, “time to return your hero to our team. We have some Quidditch tactics to discuss. If you’ll excuse me.”

None of the girls had the courage to say no to Tauriel, partially Kíli suspected due to her imposing presence. Being an athletic Chaser with at least a 10 cm height difference over the girls of Men did seem to have its advantages.

“Thank you so much,” panted Kíli, trying his best to catch his breath. Even though it was just being questioned by a bunch of girls, Kíli felt like he had run a marathon and more.

“No problem at all,” laughed Tauriel as she helped Kíli straighten his Gryffindor tie. “Girls can be scary, especially those of Men. And you’re too nice for your own good sometimes.”

Whether Tauriel was right or not, it did not change the fact that by the time Kíli had reached the Ravenclaw table, Fíli was already gone.

“Quidditch practice,” said Luna Lovegood, a Ravenclaw student one year younger than Kíli, in a dreamy voice. Kíli had never really talked to her before but he knew her by name, thanks to all the time he had spent at the Ravenclaw table. He had always found Luna quite intriguing, with her dirty blonde hair, pale eyebrows, big dreamy eyes, and a slightly tranced aura around her. Kíli sometimes wondered if she had any Elf blood in her. She was not necessarily beautiful by the traditional standard but there was just something about her that fascinated Kíli.

“Thanks,” said Kíli with a sigh. He had suddenly lost all his appetite despite a whole morning of hard Quidditch training. Sitting heavily next to Luna, Kíli played with his food listlessly.

“Trouble with your friend?” asked Luna in the same dreamy voice without even looking at Kíli, who had just choked on his piece of ham.

“Pardon?” asked Kíli in a surprised tone. He did not remember confiding his troubles to Luna, seeing that he had never talked to the girl before.

“Luna knows things,” said Tauriel with a smile. “Don’t know why and don’t know how. But she just knows.”

“I get it from my mummy,” said Luna, her eyes distant. “She always knew and I do too. Not often as she did.”

“Er, I’m sorry,” said Kíli awkwardly. Judging from the past tense, Luna had lost her mum.

“It’s alright,” said Luna with a faint smile, finally turning around to look Kíli straight in the eye. Her eyes were unlike anyone Kíli had ever met, for they were of the palest grey that was almost white. Despite their unusual colour, they were so entrancing that Kíli could not help but feel drawn to them. There were so much emotion and depth in them, but only that of peace and understanding. “Those who we love never truly leave us far behind. Physical proximity is never a requirement for two hearts close to each other. The same goes for you and Fíli.”

“As I said,” smiled Tauriel at the dumbfounded expression on Kíli’s face, “Luna always knows. Perhaps you should listen to her more often.”

“Right.” Strangely, this had made Kíli feel better about the whole situation. He should not doubt his friendship with Fíli simply because their hectic schedules kept them apart. He knew Fíli and he knew Fíli cared about him. He just had to trust.

For the next week, Kíli rarely got to spend time with Fíli outside of their classes because their first Quidditch match against Slytherin was coming up, which meant that Oliver was officially obsessed. Normally this would have concerned Kíli but the conversation with Luna and Tauriel made him see his friendship with Fíli in a different light. Instead of stressing about it, Kíli had learnt to take every day as it went. He still tried to talk to Fíli as much as possible during classes and studied together whenever time permitted but he no longer worried when he and Fíli were not spending time together. His much more relaxed attitude had benefited Fíli too, who slowly adopted the same approach.

“How are you feeling?” asked Fíli during breakfast the next Saturday morning. The Gryffindor versus Slytherin match was about to begin and the whole school was filled with excitement for their first Quidditch match of the year. Every member of the Gryffindor team was more nervous than usual, including the evil twins even though they would never admit it. Their jokes were louder and their laughs more dramatic, telling Kíli that nerves did get to them too. As for Kíli himself, he was on his fifth glass of pumpkin juice already, a possibly unwise choice for his bladder but he ignored it wholeheartedly.

“I’m feeling okay,” said Kíli, which was partially true. Their training sessions in the past week had been excellent but then there was still the minor inconvenience of Bolg being the Slytherin Beater. To say that Kíli was not concerned would be a total lie. The mere idea of Bolg with a Bludger was enough to make Kíli queasy.

“It will be fine,” said Fíli in a low whisper as if reading Kíli’s mind. “You’ve trained hard for this and you know how to dodge a Bludger better than anyone. Bolg won’t dare do anything fishy, not with all the teachers around.”

Except that not all the teachers were around. Several seats at the Staff table were vacant, including that of Thorin, Dwalin, and Gandalf’s.

“There has been another Niffler incident,” said Lindir, who had magically appeared next to them in the usual Lindir style. “Apparently, it’s serious this time.”

“Serious enough for them to miss the Quidditch match? Especially for Professor Thorin, it’s Slytherin vs Gryffindor!” Kíli was more than surprised. It was unlike Thorin, who was naturally competitive, to miss a Slytherin Quidditch match.

“It was Professor Thorin’s office this time.” Lindir’s words made Kíli and Fíli exchange a quick look. Kíli knew they were both thinking the same thing. Could this be about the Arkenstone again? The look on Fíli’s face clearly echoed Kíli’s concern.

“Do you think we should go and investigate?” whispered Kíli.

“Are you mad?” Fíli whispered back in surprise. “You could miss the match and Wood would use twenty Cruciatus on you before killing you if you do.”

Unfortunately, this did not feel like an empty threat to Kíli, who shuddered when he imagined the look on Oliver’s face if he did miss the match. He would rather marry Bolg than suffer Oliver’s wraths. Speaking of Bolg… “Fine, I won’t go then. But why haven’t they caught the Niffler and whoever that stole it?”

“I don’t know,” said Fíli slowly. “It is odd now that you mentioned it. Maybe they just haven’t looked hard enough?”

“Last we heard, the bloody thing’s wrecking the castle. I doubt Professor Gandalf needs much more motivation than that,” deadpanned Kíli.

“Don’t be smart,” chided Fíli gently. “I just can’t understand why. Professor Dáin, despite his many other faults, is brilliant with magical creatures. How can he not have found the Niffler already?”

Kíli had no answer to the question. He did have some suggestions on how to catch the smuggler of the Niffler though. “What if we tail Bolg? He is the most likely suspect, isn’t he?”

Fíli frowned. “I’ve thought about it too but it can’t be Bolg. He’s been here this whole time. How can he go and set the Niffler into uncle’s office?”

It was such a valid point that Kíli had to think for a minute before coming up with an answer. “What if he has an accomplice? What if he has stolen a Time-Turner?!”

Fíli looked pensive. “It is unlikely but not completely improbable. Maybe we should tell uncle our suspicions after the match so he can investigate.”

“I’ve already told him,” said Kíli, “during our last visit to Hogsmeade.”

“You did?” Fíli looked surprised. “Do you think he believes you?”

Kíli thought for a moment, trying to recall the details of his conversation with Thorin. “I think so. He didn’t look angry or dismissive.”

Unfortunately, this did not bring any joy to Fíli. On the contrary, he looked even more troubled. “If uncle did take you seriously, it must mean that he has already done his investigation on Bolg. It’s not in his nature to let something of such importance slip. So this can only mean one of two things: either Bolg truly is not involved or he has somehow outsmarted uncle, both of which, I’m afraid to say, are quite concerning to me.”

Kíli could only echo Fíli’s sentiment. As much as he would like to pin this on Bolg, his rational mind was telling him that the first explanation was far more likely. Yet still, his instinct was telling him that Bolg was somehow involved.

“Alright team,” said Oliver as he rose from his seat, looking slightly pale, “time to go! Everyone finish up your food and drinks now. We’ll meet in the changing room.”

“Good luck!” Fíli thumped Kíli on the back hard. Nodding, Kíli got up and followed his team out of the Great Hall.

When they had almost made it to the changing room, Kíli felt his bladder finally catching up with all the pumpkin juice he had consumed. Mumbling a quick apology, Kíli ran towards the nearest boy’s lavatory, only to be temporarily sidetracked by…

“Bloody?”

Sure enough, it was the same filthy House Elf whom Kíli had pumped into the other night. He was wearing the same dirty rag with no improvements whatsoever to his personal hygiene. The only difference was that instead of looking frantic like he did last time, he looked distinctly shifty.

“Excuses me,” squeaked the little House Elf whose eyes were darting quickly from left to right as if he was searching for an escape from the situation, “Bloody must returns to his master.”

“But what are you doing outside a boy’s lavatory?” asked Kíli, not unkindly. “Are you cleaning it? Is that what Alfrid made you do?”

“Bloody mustn’t say!” cried the House Elf hysterically, his eyes popping out. “Master forbid Bloody to say it to anybody. Bloody a good House Elf. Bloody do not say!”

“Alright, alright,” said Kíli placatingly for Bloody looked on the verge of a mental breakdown, “I won’t force you to tell me, okay?”

At that moment, the loud voices of Lee Jordan doing pre-match talk could be heard even inside the castle. As if electrocuted, Bloody jumped into the air, shouting, “Bloody must go. Master need Bloody.” With that, he ran away so fast that Kíli barely had time to say “okay”.

Strange creatures, thought Kíli as he rushed into the boy’s lavatory to relieve himself of the most urgent need at the moment. He had to hurry in order not to miss the match.

Unfortunately for Kíli, his trip to the changing room was once again interrupted, this time by Thorin, who, judging by the look of it, was heading in the same direction.

“Professor!” cried Kíli happily. Even though Thorin was technically the enemy at the moment, Kíli was still pleased to see him. Thorin, however, did not seem to share the same sentiment. Frowning slightly, he nodded briefly to Kíli before resuming his stride without so much of a hello.

“Is everything alright, professor?” Perhaps the stress of break-in of his office was putting Thorin in a bad mood, thought Kíli. “I heard that your office…”

“If you have free time on your hands, Mister Durin,” snapped Thorin, “I would advise you to spend them wisely rather than wasting them on baseless rumours. It may cost you dearly, which in this case might be your Quidditch match.”

Completely flabbergasted, Kíli was left rooted to the spot only to stare at Thorin’s retreating figure. He simply did not understand what was happening! Thorin had not taken this attitude towards him since their first year! What on earth had happened because Kíli was sure this was not a mere manifestation of stress? Others might think Thorin a moody and grumpy man who lost his temper at others for no reason at all. But Kíli knew better. He had learnt to understand Thorin after more than two years of being best friends with Fíli. Thorin rarely did something without a reason. There must be something that triggered this behaviour yet Kíli could not, for the life of him, think of what he had done to deserve this.

When Kíli had finally arrived at the changing room, the match was minutes away from starting. Oliver, who was pacing around the room like a chained angry lion, looked like he was about to hyperventilate until he caught sight of Kíli.

“Sweet balls of Godric!” cried Oliver, which raised the eyebrows of Aragorn while eliciting raucous laughter from the evil twins. “Where the bloody cauldron have you been?”

“I…” Kíli did not even know where to begin. To say that his encounters, particularly the one with Thorin, had not affected him would be a total lie.

“Never mind.” Oliver waved his hand impatiently before practically ripping Kíli’s Gryffindor robes open. One of the evil twins whistled, earning him a smack on the head from Tauriel. “Change into your uniform now! We must get on the field!”

The Slytherin team was already lined up in the field when the Gryffindor team arrived. All of them looked rather disappointed at the Gryffindor team’s arrival, except, Kíli did a double-take, Bolg, who seemed, if possible, relieved. It was a bit hard to tell, thought Kíli rather unkindly since Bolg’s face lent him a menacing air that simply did not sit well with positive emotions such as joy or relief. When Kíli looked again, however, the look was gone and Bolg had returned to his old self with a malicious grin that Kíli wondered if he had imagined the whole thing after all. But he had no time to ponder, for Professor Bard had blown the whistle and the match had begun.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm sorry but I have to include Romilda Vane in this story lol.


	6. Chapter 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The first Quidditch match of the year is always stressful. This year, however, Kíli needed to worry about something more than Quidditch.

The wind blowing in his ear made Kíli feel more alive than anything else could. When he was flying, nothing else mattered. None of his troubles or concerns could bother him. There was only one thing that he needed to focus on: catching the Golden Snitch for Gryffindor so they would win the match.

Thanks to Wood’s ruthless training, the Gryffindor team’s chances looked better than ever. All those hours of hard work had manifested itself in the match. The Gryffindor Chasers, who were already magnificent players to start with, now worked as if they were telepathic. The no-look passes got the crowd cheering like mad while riling the Slytherins up. The evil twins were their usual selves, flamboyant yet deadly. Every Bludger they hit had reached its intended target, either knocking the Slytherin players off their brooms or at least forcing them to fly off-course. After a mere 10 minutes, Gryffindor was leading by 70 points and Legolas seemed to be the only Slytherin player still sitting upright on a broom.

Unfortunately, the Slytherin team was not ready to simply concede defeat. Seeing that they could not out-play or out-fly the Gryffindors, they had decided to resort to their old tricks, fouling. Kíli soon discovered that the Slytherin players were no longer aiming to catch the Quaffle. Instead, they were going for the Gryffindor players. Bolg was perhaps the most enthusiastic of them all as he charged directly at Tauriel so fast that she had no time to react. By the time she saw Bolg, it was too late. The sheer size differences meant that Bolg not only knocked her off her broom, he practically sent her flying in the air but without her broom.

“Tauriel!” cried Kíli desperately as both he and Aragorn, who was closest to Tauriel, sped towards her as fast as they could. Yet still, she was falling, her flaming red hair billowing in the air like some sort of blazing fire, her face pale with fear and her beautiful green eyes wide with shock. Kíli urged his Nimbus 2000 on, urging, no, pleading it to go faster. Perhaps sensing Kíli’s desperation, the Nimbus put on another spur of speed and…

“I’ve got you, Tauriel,” said Kíli breathlessly as he held Tauriel tight in his arms. Every breath he took was a painful ordeal for the impact of a free-falling Tauriel was too much to take, even for him. Tauriel had lost consciousness, probably from the effect of the free-fall and the collision combined, her body limp in Kíli’s arms. What was even more worrisome, however, was the fact that Kíli’s Nimbus 2000 could not seem to hold the weight of them both as Kíli felt it quivering under his legs. But he was too scared to move because he knew that any movement, however slight, might be the tipping point that sent them into another free dive. Fortunately, Aragorn had arrived at precisely that moment. With his help, Kíli had managed to bring Tauriel down to the ground.

“How is she?” asked Arwen, who had rushed from the stands to be at her friend’s side.

“She passed out after I caught her,” said Kíli helplessly. “I’m sorry but I didn’t know what else to do. I had to catch her.”

“It’s not your fault!” said Aragorn firmly. “You’ve saved her life. She could have died had it not been for you. I think it’s just the impact that has knocked her out. I’m sure she’ll be fine.”

“We need to take her to the Hospital Wing,” said Arwen while placing her hand gently on Tauriel’s pale face.

“I’ll take her,” said Kíli before he was interrupted by Oliver.

“Certainly not! Kíli, you stay here!” The look on Oliver’s face was concerned but determined, “We’ve still got a match to play.”

“Oliver!”

“Tauriel won’t be able to live with herself if she realises that her injury has cost us the match,” barked Oliver, spit flying and face red. “Don’t you want revenge on those disgusting Slytherins?! Do you want Tauriel to get hurt for nothing? Then go back on your bloody broom and slaughter those despicable lowlifes! Let’s humiliate them so they’ll never dare to try this kind of deplorable trick on us ever again!”

Kíli could feel his blood boil. Oliver was right. The Slytherins had to pay. Kíli wished that he could sneak into the Slytherin Common Room so he could torture every one of them for daring to hurt Tauriel. The next best alternative was to humiliate them utterly in front of the entire school.

“Katie, you’re up,” said Oliver with grim determination. Katie Bell, a 4th-year reserve Chaser, nodded firmly before mounting her broom. Kíli and Aragorn followed suit and they were back in the match.

Once Kíli was airborne, he could see the whole pitch and catch up on what he had missed when he was trying to rescue Tauriel. Bolg, it seemed, had been sent off the pitch. In his place was a nervous-looking 2nd year who was probably the Slytherin reserve Beater. Everyone waited for Professor Bard to resume the match.

“Given the absolutely unforgivable nature of the foul,” said Professor Bard loudly, his voice magically amplified so the entire pitch could hear him clearly, “we have decided that Mister Gundabad are to be sent off and banned from playing Quidditch for the rest of the school year. His Head of House will hand out additional punishment because such behaviour will never be tolerated in Hogwarts. Gryffindor will be awarded two penalty shots.”

Aragorn took the shots and scored both times with a vindictive smile on his face. Gryffindor was now 100 points up. With Bolg, their best and most vicious Beater, gone and the rest of the Slytherin team confined to normal Quidditch tactics, Gryffindor soon saw their lead increase almost alarmingly. After another 20 minutes, Gryffindor was leading the match by 230 points, practically ending the match. Kíli was almost reluctant to find the Snitch since he wanted this match to go on forever until they set a record for the biggest lead in Hogwarts history. He caught Bolg’s ugly face in the stands a couple of times and could not help but feel a grim satisfaction. Bolg, however, did not seem too upset about the situation. His eyes were fixed on Kíli and when he caught Kíli’s eyes, he had the audacity to smirk.

“Kíli!” Oliver’s desperate cry made Kíli look up. What he saw made his heart stop. While he was delaying finding the Snitch to have a staring contest with Bolg, Feren Woodland, the Slytherin Seeker, had spotted the Snitch. Racing forward, Feren looked like a man possessed. Before he sped up to chase Feren, however. Kíli could not help but shoot Bolg one last look of resentment. It had all been Bolg’s fault, first hurting Tauriel, now distracting him. To his great astonishment, Bolg did not look pleased at all. If anything, he looked concerned. With no time to dwell on the matter, Kíli lowered himself flat on his Nimbus 2000 and urged it forward. Feren was far ahead of him but if he could just fly faster, maybe there was still a chance.

A Bludger from one of the twins forced Feren off his course temporarily, giving Kíli a chance to catch up. By the time Feren was back on track, Kíli was not far behind. Going as fast as he could, Kíli finally levelled himself with Feren. The Snitch was just in front of them so Kíli threw caution to the wind and lunged forward for the Snitch, not caring if he was even on his broom or not. He could hear the gasps and cries from the crowd but he did not care. He had to catch the Snitch.

When his fingers finally touched the Snitch, Kíli felt such a euphoric feeling that he did not even notice the prickling sensation on his fingers. The next thing he knew, his heart felt as if it had been squeezed by someone’s hand. The pain was so intense that darkness soon engulfed him, leaving him blissfully unaware of the trouble he was about to be in.

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When Kíli regained consciousness again, he was not surprised to find himself surrounded by the familiar smell of the Hospital Wing. Opening his eyes proved a monumental task because Kíli felt as if every part of his body had been smashed and repatched together. His heart jolted dangerously when he tried to move his arm. Even the smallest exertion, it seemed, was enough to send him back to, in this particular case, blissful darkness.

“Kíli!” Fíli’s voice sounded so worried and relieved that Kíli almost smiled. With his eyes still closed, he could just imagine the look on Fíli’s face. Trying one more time, Kíli had finally managed to open his eyes to see what had happened.

It was getting dark outside, which Kíli was grateful for. He did not think his eyes could handle the bright sunlight. Next to his bed stood Fíli, who had, Kíli had to squint his eyes to see for sure, tear tracks on his face. He was also wearing something…

“Wha… What day is it?” Kíli’s voice was so hoarse that it sounded like scratching paper to him. What was worse, this simple sentence had nearly drained what little strength Kíli had regained since he had woken up.

“It’s Monday evening,” said Fíli in a small voice. He tried for a reassuring smile but failed. “You’ve been out for more than two days. I thought you’d wake up soon just like Tauriel did but you didn’t. You were still out by the time she was discharged and I thought. Oh, Kíli…” Fíli’s voice broke. Wiping his face, he said hurriedly, “Let me get Mister Oín.”

Two days, thought Kíli tiredly, no wonder none of his teammates were here. He had no idea that he had been out for such a long time. The fact that Oín, who was usually so good with injuries, could not revive him for so long was worrying. His condition, whatever it was, must be far more serious than he had thought.

“What on earth happened?” asked Kíli when Fíli returned with Oín, who looked relieved at Kíli’s progress and annoyed by his question.

“Don’t ask any questions now,” said Oín sternly as he waved his wand to run diagnostic spells on Kíli. “You will only tire yourself out. What you need now is peace and quiet and plenty of rest.”

“But…”

“Drink this.” Oín’s tone brook no refusal, which left Kíli no option but to drink the potion Oín shoved under his nose. He fully expected something nasty and foul, seeing that it was likely brewed by Thorin, who was not his biggest fan at the moment. On the contrary, Kíli found the potion both soothingly refreshing and quite mild.

“Uncle brewed this specifically for you,” said Fíli, reading Kíli’s mind. “He understands that you must be very frail so he has tried his best to tone down any nastiness of the potion to make it easier for you.”

Truth be told, Kíli was quite touched by Thorin’s thoughtfulness. Always reserved and dignified, Thorin rarely chose to express his more tender feelings through words or physical gestures. One had to be trained in subtlety to see through Thorin’s many layers of protection and discern his true thoughts. Fortunately for Kíli, years of living in an orphanage had helped him acquire this particular skill, even though he rarely employed it. He knew that Thorin cared about him enough to go to the extra length to modify the potion, which elated and frustrated him to equal measure. If Thorin did care about him, why was he acting so distant and even cold when Kíli bumped into him earlier? What on earth was troubling Thorin?

As much as Kíli would like to pursue the subject, his physical state did not permit such leisure. Whether from the injury or some kind of sedative effect of the potion Kíli could not say, he was soon overwhelmed by exhaustion and had no choice but to succumb to the dreamland once again. When he awoke the second time, it was bright outside and Kíli was feeling a lot better.

“Morning,” smiled Fíli, who was sitting next to him with a tray of food. Judging by its content, it was already lunchtime.

“What date is it?” asked Kíli.

“Tuesday,” said Fíli, looking relieved, “you slept through the night. Mister Oín was pleased when he checked on you this morning. Said that you’ve made good progress. Anyway, it’s about lunchtime now. I sneaked into the kitchen to get some food since I won’t be eating in the Great Hall.”

“Have you been having your meal here the whole time?” Kíli was again deeply touched. He knew how hectic Fíli’s schedule was so his friend’s mere presence meant the world to him.

Fíli’s face turned slightly pink. “Well, I’m not the only one who has visited. Your Quidditch team has stopped by multiple times but you were always out when they visited. Everyone is extremely worried, especially when you were first brought here. We thought for a moment,” Fíli stopped and cleared his throat awkwardly. “Anyway, Romilda Vane has stopped by too. She tried to stay, insisting that her presence would surely calm you down and speed up the recovery but Mister Oín told her to leave because she was making a scene.” Kíli had never been so fond of Oín before. Waking up to the theatrical face of Romilda would surely scare him straight back into a coma. “Professor Dwalin comes to visit whenever he can. He’s a bit preoccupied at the moment, with teaching and investigating the attack but I suppose he’ll stop by again today. Uncle has also stopped by more than once. He’s very concerned about you too. I can tell by just looking at him.”

Never in his life had Kíli felt so grateful. He knew he should not be happy about getting almost killed in a Quidditch match but to know that so many people cared about him was almost enough to ease his pain. Almost… 

“Is that for me?” Kíli looked at the food with longing, his stomach grumbling. Fíli shook his head and laughed. “Sorry but no. I’m under the strictest order from MIster Oín not to feed you anything. Apparently, your stomach can’t handle solid food at this moment. He will come back with some more suitable food for you in a moment.”

“Oh,” mumbled Kíli unhappily. Now that he was feeling better, his appetite had returned, which meant that watching Fíli devour that scrumptious food was simply torture. More to take his mind off that than anything, Kíli returned the topic to his injury. “So what exactly happened after I caught the Snitch? All I can remember is feeling something funny in my heart and then I just passed out.”

Fíli’s face turned dark. Kíli had never seen him so angry before. “It was a curse, placed directly on the Snitch so whoever touched it first would be the victim. The curse is powerful and directly attacks the heart. I’m not surprised you passed out. Some are known to be killed by it as a result.” He turned to Kíli. “Did you Sense anything when you were close to the Snitch?”

“I…” Kíli tried hard to remember. “I really can’t tell because I was so focused on catching the Snitch that nothing else mattered.” He felt particularly stupid now. How could he not Sense it if it was that powerful? Surely he ought to feel something.

“It’s not yer fault,” said Dwalin, who had just strode into the Hospital Wing. “If this curse were placed on any other ordinary object, yeh would have detected it I’m sure, adrenalin for the match or not.”

Kíli sat up straighter. Now Dwalin had his full attention and he was properly intrigued. “What do you mean?”

“The Snitch is a complex magical object with many powerful spells put on it,” explained Dwalin. “For instance, the Snitch has a powerful spell on it to enable its flesh memory.”

“Its what?”

“Flesh memory,” added Fíli. “The Golden Snitch is enchanted to recognise the first one who touches it in case of a dispute in a match.”

“Precisely,” nodded Dwalin. “It’s not an easy spell and has to be placed by someone qualified. When multiple spells are placed on one object, it makes detection of the magical signature of each much more difficult. It is not impossible but it does require someone of a more proficient knowledge in magic. I am, therefore, not surprised that yer Sense failed to detect the curse put on it. The presence of other strong spells must have clouded yer Sense, which,” he patted Kíli gently on the shoulder, “powerful as it might be for a third-year, still has a lot of room for development.”

This made sense. Kíli felt both relieved and slightly guilty. He had neglected the training of his Sense since the start of the term. If he had worked a bit harder, perhaps he could have detected the curse and avoided the attack.

“Don’t be harsh on yourself,” said Fíli softly. “Even if you did Sense something, I doubt you would have stopped. It all happened too quickly in a very stressful situation. Nobody has even dreamt that the Snitch might be tempered with. How could you have stopped so Feren might catch the Snitch?”

That was perfectly true. Kíli knew that he would have gone for the Snitch regardless of the consequences. But that still did not explain, “So how can the Snitch recognise my touch when it must have been handled by numerous people before?”

“Everyone else who needs to handle it before the match has to wear gloves,” said Fíli. “Whoever cursed the Snitch must have done the same. I reckon that’s how the attacker can be sure that you’re the intended victim.”

“Indeed,” Dwalin agreed. “This is a very clever attack. The attacker has planned it way ahead of time, making it almost impossible for us to find out when and where the Snitch was even cursed. Damn bastard!” He snarled, his nostrils flaring in anger. “I wish I could have caught them by now and make them pay!”

“But how does the attacker know I will catch the Snitch and not Feren?” asked Kíli, partly because he still did not understand this part, partly to distract Dwalin from any homicidal thoughts. “Feren is a brilliant Seeker. He could have caught the Snitch and in fact, he almost did. Unless,” Kíli stopped for a second to think, “do you reckon Feren could have been in on it?”

“I doubt it,” said Dwalin. “I’ve taught Feren and he’s a decent lad. A bit quiet and distant but what do you expect from the Elves, especially someone close to Thranduil. With that said, I don’t think he’d hurt anyone though.”

“I agree,” said Fíli slowly. “Feren and Legolas were the only two not resorting to fouling during the match even though Slytherin was trailing behind. I can’t imagine him getting involved. Besides, you barely know each other. Why on earth would he want to hurt you? I think the attacker just decided to take a risk on that, which in my opinion makes him even more dangerous. He clearly does not care if someone innocent might get hurt in the process.”

This left only one possible suspect in Kíli’s mind. “It must be Bolg then!”

“That is a serious accusation,” cried Fíli, his eyes wide. “This is not just a small prank. Whoever cursed the Snitch intended to kill you! You cannot accuse Bolg of something of this nature without concrete proof.”

“But he’s the only one that fits,” said Kíli defiantly. “Look at all the evidence. It must be done by someone who has a reasonable knowledge of Quidditch and possibly from a Wizarding family because even I have no idea about the flesh memory thing. As you said, it must be someone who has a grudge against me because otherwise why would they want to kill me? The attacker is also ruthless and has no qualms about hurting others. Bolg is the only one that fits the bill.”

Fíli sighed, “I know he’s an arse and I know he has tried to hurt you back in the first year but that was different. He might not know how serious that would be. But this is attempted murder without any doubt! Are you sure the rivalry between you two really warrants that, even from someone like Bolg?”

“Then he must be acting on his father’s order,” said Kíli, convinced of his theory. “Professor Thorin said that whoever is after the Arkenstone wants both of us dead. Why not start with me since I’m the easier target? Quidditch is the perfect occasion when we’re hundreds of feet above the ground with plenty of opportunities for accidents and no adult wizards around. Actually, I’m surprised Bolg did not just try to kill me with a Bludger…” he suddenly stopped for a thought had just occurred to him. What if…

“What is it?” asked Fíli but Kíli paid him no attention. Of course, that made sense now.

“The attack on Tauriel, it was deliberate!” cried Kíli.

“Er, I’m not following,” said Fili, looking confused, “Of course it was. Anyone with eyes can see that. You can hardly call that an accident.”

“You know what I mean,” Kíli rolled his eyes. “Bolg attacked Tauriel deliberately so he could be sent off from the match. This means that, first of all, he wouldn’t be playing when I was attacked so he has an alibi. Besides, he’s the best Slytherin Beater so with him gone, the Slytherin team stood no chance of winning. Even Feren could not outplay an entire Gryffindor team. Bolg was trying to ensure that I was the one catching the Snitch.”

“This did make sense, yeh know,” said Dwalin, who had remained silent during the discussion. “Unfortunately, I can’t bring it to Gandalf because it’s just a theory, albeit a good one. Do yeh have any kind of proof that Bolg did not just do what he usually does, fouling people because he can?”

Kíli thought hard, trying to remember every single detail of the day of the Quidditch match, “Actually, there’s something. We were almost late for the match and when we did turn up, everyone in the Slytherin team looked disappointed, except Bolg. You would expect him to be livid about it because we could have forfeited the match due to tardiness. But he looked almost relieved. And later, after he was sent off, Slytherin was being slaughtered. When I saw him off the pitch, he did not look upset at all. The only time he showed any sign of unease was when Feren spotted the Snitch. You’d think that he did not want Slytherin to win.”

“That does sound fishy.” Dwalin frowned and started pacing the room. “From what I know about Bolg, he detests losing. But,” he stopped his pacing and scratched his bald head in frustration, “unfortunately, this is not evidence. Bolg can easily say that he was having an off day. There’s no rule against wishing yer own team to lose, after all.”

“But surely nobody in their right mind will wish that unless they have something to gain from it,” argued Fíli, who seemed more convinced of Kíli’s theory now.

“I know,” sighed Dwalin. “And I agree with ya if I’m honest. But rules are rules and they have to be followed for a good reason.” He looked Kíli straight in the eyes and said earnestly, “Yeh know I’d move heaven and earth to bring yer attacker to justice, don’t ya? But we need something more concrete than Bolg’s facial expressions. One obvious obstacle to yer argument is that a spell of such complexity is clearly beyond the capacity of a mere third year, however advanced they might be.”

“But Bolg…”

“Did not cast that spell,” said Dwalin solemnly. “I have managed to trace the magical signature of that particular curse. It took me quite a while, which only testified the power of the wizard. It was not Bolg. Whoever cast the spell is someone much more powerful than Bolg and their signature is quite unique. I don’t remember seeing something like this before. Bolg’s signature, if you can even call it that since most wizards don’t develop their distinguishable signatures until they’re done with their O.W.L.s, is very mundane. A little on the dark side, of course, but nothing I haven’t seen before. It certainly does not indicate the power of the spell.”

This did put a stopper to Kíli’s theory but he was momentarily distracted from the mystery because something else piqued his interest. “What’s my magical signature like?” From the corner of his eyes, he could see Fíli sitting straighter too.

Dwalin grinned. “Eager huh, laddie? As I said, it’s too early to tell. Yer magic is still developing so right now the magical signature is very vague. The one thing I can tell yeh is that yer is different from a lot of the Dwarves. It’s lighter. Oh, I don’t mean most Dwarves’ magical signatures are dark,'' added Dwalin hastily at the questioning look on Kíli’s face. “It’s just yers is more carefree and prone to change. It’s hard to describe, laddie.”

Somehow Kíli was not surprised by Dwalin’s answer. Perhaps his magical signature was a mix of his father and mother’s influence. Setting that thought aside, Kíli pressed on about Bolg. “So Bolg didn’t cast the spell. He could still be responsible. He must have an accomplice then.”

“That makes perfect sense,” said Fíli before Dwalin could voice his objection. “We never figured out how Bolg was petrified last year. Since it wasn’t the Basilisk and Azog was not in the castle, it must be a dark object. Unless they have figured out a way to go past the Hogwarts ward to sneak such a dark object into the castle, Bolg must have an accomplice inside the castle who had cursed the object and placed it in his paths.”

Dwalin sighed, “I understand yer theory and I’m by no means discounting it. But this supposed dark object could not be found at the scene where Bolg was petrified, which was why we did not initially include it in our consideration.”

“Again, the work of his accomplice then,” said Kíli triumphantly. “How else could it have disappeared? Bolg was out cold so I can at least rule him out for this.”

“But who can his accomplice be?” said Dwalin. “As I said, the magical signature of the curse placed on the Snitch is highly peculiar, something I’ve never encountered before. If his accomplice is indeed inside Hogwarts, I would have recognised the signature almost immediately. There are only a handful of wizards powerful enough to cast a spell like this.”

“Can a magical signature be altered?” asked Kíli, mostly out of curiosity. He wondered if it was more like a person’s handwriting or fingerprints. “What if two wizards have very similar magical signatures?”

“Hmm, very interesting questions,” said Dwalin thoughtfully. “It can’t really be altered but it can be disguised if the wizard is powerful enough. In this case, there is no effort to disguise it. As for similarities, the more powerful a wizard is, the more distinguishable their signature is. It is highly unlikely that a wizard of such calibre can have a signature similar to another’s.”

This did deflate Kíli’s hope. It sounded like that Dwalin had indeed thought of everything and there was no way Bolg could get an accomplice to help him achieve this feat. Yet Kíli was sure Bolg was involved. The looks on Bolg’s face did not lie and he trusted his instinct enough to know this was not the end of the story.

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After another day in the Hospital Wing, Kíli was finally cleared by Oín and discharged back to the castle. His arrival at the dinner table was received with the warmest welcome from not only Gryffindors but also Ravenclaws like Ori and Lindir.

“You’ve got a bloody strong hide,” laughed Lindir. “We all thought you were a goner.” Which earned him a sharp elbow from Tauriel.

“Who did this?” Ori was more practical. “It can’t have been an accident.”

“No, it’s not,” said Fíli. “The Snitch has been cursed with a powerful dark curse.”

“So do they know who did it?” asked Ori hopefully.

“No,” Kíli shook his head. “Professor Dwalin was sure it wasn’t a Hogwarts student or staff though. Since Hogwarts boundaries and fireplaces are protected by wards and all our mail posts are screened for dark magic, I really can’t see how someone can bring that cursed Snitch inside Hogwarts.”

“But what if someone sneaks into Hogwarts to curse the Snitch?” said Lindir, a bit more serious this time. “There are secret passageways in and out of Hogwarts, maybe…” he paused when he saw the astounded looks on everyone else’s faces. “Blimey, please don’t tell me you don’t know about that.”

“Nobody has ever told me!” said Fíli, half indignant, half concerned. “How do you know about them?”

“The evil twins, of course,” said Lindir, which did not surprise Kíli. “They know every secret passageway. I can go and ask them if they have noticed anything unusual. They have a funny way of knowing where everyone is in the castle. Bloody gits would never tell me their secrets, mind you, but at least they can find out if someone has managed to sneak into the castle.”

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Kíli had his first class since his injury that very night, double Astronomy. It was only when he saw Bolg’s face that he realised how unprepared he was to face his would-be killer, for Kíli was even more convinced that Bolg was the culprit now that Lindir presented him with that possibility. The situation was not helped by Bolg’s reaction to Kíli’s return.

“Still alive and kicking, I see,” sneered Bolg, putting his black sharp teeth on full display. “I wonder what it’ll take to rid the world of the likes of you. You’re like rodents or pests, small and useless but infinitely annoying and so hard to get rid of. I heard it’s because those Muggles go at it like rabbits in heat. Is that why your father married that Muggle whore of your mother because she spread her legs…”

“Kíli, no!” Fíli’s exclamation was nothing more than mere background noise to Kíli for he had just seen red. How dare Bolg insult his mother like that! Bolg, who had just tried to kill him! Kíli did not even realise that he was lunging at Bolg until he felt the restraining hands of Fíli and Ori on him. Not that it stopped him. He was determined to make Bolg pay this time!

“What in the name of Ilúvatar is going on here?” Professor Celeborn’s voice finally brought Kíli from his rage-infused mind back to reality. Behind Professor Celeborn, Bolg and his Slytherin cronies, Yazneg and Grinnah, smirked at Kíli triumphantly.

“Durin here was trying to punch me,” said Bolg with a malicious gleam in his eyes.

“Gundabad provoked him first,” cried Gimli, his hands balled into fists. “He insulted Kíli’s mother. I would have done much worse if someone had said something like this about my mother!”

Professor Celeborn’s gaze fell first on Kíli, who looked defiantly back, and then on Bolg, who simply could not wipe the smirk off his face. Kíli could feel Fíli’s agitation next to him but he simply did not care. He would take any punishment from Professor Celeborn because his only regret was that he did not get to punch Bolg into a pulp.

“Very well then,” said Professor Celeborn in his usual regal manner, “I do believe both parties are at fault here. Mister Durin has acted rashly and aggressively towards Mister Gundabad but he was indeed provoked by Mister Gundabad. I, therefore, must hand out punishment for both of you.”

“But sir,” implored Fíli, “Kíli was only defending the honour of…”

“Noble his intention might be,” Professor Celeborn was not swayed by Fíli’s argument, “he did act in a most unbecoming manner. We wizards shall always strive to conduct ourselves above such unseemly behaviours. Mister Durin will, therefore, spend two nights with Mister Dori to help him in the library. This will hopefully teach you a lesson in wizarding manners as Mister Dori is not only a master of decorum but also a reliable source of wizarding traditions. As for Mister Gundabad, spreading vile rumours is a deplorable act far below our moral standards. As a result, you must spend two nights helping Mister Alfrid. I am sure that shall teach you not to act with such malicious intent in the future.”

“At least it’s just with Mister Dori,” said Fíli bracingly as they went back to their seats to prepare their telescope. “It could have been a lot worse.”

“The worst part of this is that I didn’t even get to punch Bolg,” spat Kíli, his eyes still fixed on Bolg. “You shouldn’t have stopped me!”

“But I’ve got to,” said Fíli earnestly. “You’ll be in so much trouble if you did punch Bolg. The detentions you’ll get…”

“I don’t give a damn if I get detentions,” cried Kíli. “He insulted my mother! I’d rather spend my entire year in detention as long as I can get a hex on Bolg so he’ll never dare to do such things again!”

Fíli’s retort was interrupted by Professor Celeborn, who had finally started the class. Kíli’s mind was not in it, however. The all-consuming rage meant that exacting revenge on Bolg was all he could think of. If only he knew a good enough curse! He did not even notice when the class ended until Fíli poked him in the ribs. Gathering his things as fast as he could, Kíli practically ran out of the classroom after Bolg, ignoring the concerned cries from Fíli. He was still not fast enough. By the time he had made it out of the Astronomy Tower, Bolg was already gone.

“Have you lost your mind,” panted Fíli, who had finally caught up with Kíli. “You’re going to get into so much trouble! Bolg’s not worth it! Trust me!”

Kíli opened his mouth but stopped. He had no wish to argue with Fíli but he knew Fíli would never understand. Bolg may mock Fíli’s father but such ridicules rarely hurt as much as slurs against one’s mother. So Kíli simply shrugged and bid Fíli good night before heading to the Gryffindor Common Room.

“Everything alright?” Tauriel’s unexpected question nearly made Kíli jump. So engrossed in his own thoughts, Kíli did not even notice Tauriel sitting next to the fireplace.

“I… What are you doing here?”

“Can’t sleep,” shrugged Tauriel as she rose from her seat and walked towards Kíli. “Something’s up. You look so pale and angry.”

Kíli hesitated for a second. But Tauriel might be the only person who could understand. She had lost both of her parents when she was young and thus had grown up as an orphan. If anyone could relate to Kíli, it was her.

Tauriel listened patiently when Kíli recounted the incident in the Astronomy class earlier. Once Kíli was done, she simply opened her arms and wrapped them around Kíli, her scent engulfing him. “I can’t blame you for what you did out there. I would have done a lot worse myself,” said Tauriel and Kíli could not help but feel heartened. Finally, someone who understood his action!

“I just wished Fíli and Ori hadn’t stopped me,” groaned Kíli. “I would have got a good punch in at least.”

“Don’t blame Fíli,” smiled Tauriel. “He’s been brought up by Professor Thorin who instilled ironclad decorum in his household if the rumours are true. Fíli’s his heir so of course he’s expected to always behave with impeccable manners, whatever the circumstances. As for Ori, well, you know what Mister Dori is like. Speaking of which, I never understand how Professor Nori manages to survive Mister Dori but then again, there’s little Professor Nori can’t do.”

Kíli smiled despite his current mood. Nori was one of the most popular professors amongst Hogwarts students because he was probably the coolest one you could ever find. Kíli almost regretted not talking Divination. He would never have the chance to be in Professor Nori’s class.

“I can teach you some handy jinxes if you ever feel the need to curse Bolg. I know quite a few good ones from the evil twins.” This offer from Tauriel was even better than her understanding. Kíli nodded eagerly, making Tauriel laugh. “Don’t worry, Kíli. We’ll look after you. We always do.”


	7. Chapter 7

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Love is in the air, albeit somewhat unrequited :)

For the next couple of days, the whole focus of the school was on the Ravenclaw versus Hufflepuff Quidditch match that weekend. Gryffindor’s total triumph against Slytherin, which set a shocking record of a 380 points lead, meant that for the first time in years, some other team could challenge Ravenclaw’s monopoly in the Quidditch Cup. This newly-added uncertainty had certainly sparked renewed interest in the Quidditch matches and some long-forgotten rivalry.

“I’d watch your back if I were you,” smirked Lindir when he walked past Kíli on their way to dinner Thursday night. “Gryffindors are not very welcome at the Ravenclaw table at the moment.”

“Come on,” said Ori, rolling his eyes. “Don’t be absurd. This is Kíli we’re talking about. He practically spends half his time at the Ravenclaw table. A stupid Quidditch match is not…”

“Stupid Quidditch match?” Lindir gaped at Ori as if he had just sprouted extra heads or a couple of tentacles. “This is one of the most important Quidditch matches of the season! It may very well decide our chance at the Quidditch Cup. Of course, it matters!”

“But…” Ori’s retort was cut short by Kíli, who had no wish to start a fight amongst his friends because of him. “It’s alright, Ori. I can sit at the Gryffindor table today.”

“But Kíli!”

“It’s fine, really. It’s only a couple of days and I’ll have Gimli for company.” smiled Kíli even though he did not feel great about the situation. He happened to agree with Ori. One Quidditch match should not matter that much, as much as he loved the sport. He understood where Lindir was coming from, however. The Gryffindor victory was still a touchy point amongst the Ravenclaws. So he simply waved goodbye at Fíli and Ori before heading towards the Gryffindor table.

“Cold shoulder at the Ravenclaw table?” grinned Tauriel. “Lindir looked so red I thought he was about to explode.”

“Well,” shrugged Kíli as he sat down at the Gryffindor table and started piling his plate with food, “he did not want me to sit there and did not handle objection to his ideas very well.”

“That’s Lindir before a Quidditch match for you,” Tauriel laughed. “He’s so carefree most of the times that people forget he can pull a total Oliver Wood on you when it comes to Ravenclaw and Quidditch. I feel sorry for Fíli. Whoever treads on Lindir’s toes at this time must be in for a real treat in hell.”

“Actually it’s…” Kíli opened his mouth but closed it. It was not until Tauriel mentioned it that he noticed it was Ori who stood up for him, not Fíli. Casting a glance at the Ravenclaw table, he could see Fíli deep in discussion with Lindir and Cho, undoubtedly about Quidditch. Did Fíli agree with Lindir? Kíli had always assumed his friend would never but he was not so sure now. Fíli couldn’t really put Quidditch before their friendship, could he?

The abrupt arrival of Bolg not only dragged Kíli out of his thoughts but also lifted his spirit greatly, for Bolg was literally jumping as if he were dancing the Conga. Once he was closer in sight, the reason for his strange new pastime had become clear, which had Kíli and the rest of the Gryffindor table burst out laughing. The toenails on both of Bolg’s feet had grown so long that they were sticking out of his shoes. The look on Bolg’s face was murderous yet he was strangely silent. Kíli watched with great satisfaction as Bolg opened and closed his mouth rapidly with spits flying out, presumably trying to say something extremely rude, but failed as his face grew redder and redder. Bolg was only put out of his misery when Professor Thorin arrived at his side and pointed his wand at Bolg to stop the jinxes.

“You disgusting little motherfu…” The first thing Bolg said was, of course, profanities directed towards Kíli. Fortunately, Professor Thorin had the foresight to silence Bolg the moment he started. He only lifted the curse once Bolg looked like he had calmed down a fraction from his rage.

“Now, Mister Gundabad, I must ask you to refrain from using such languages in the Great Hall when we have first and second years present,” said Thorin sternly. “Sympathetic as I am towards your predicament, I cannot tolerate such behaviour and will have no choice but to silence you should you choose to do that again. Now, if you could tell me what you think has happened?”

“He attacked me!” Bolg’s accusatory finger was pointing directly at Kíli, who had no idea what Bolg was talking about.

“Is that true?” Thorin’s cold eyes fell on Kíli, who simply could not believe it. “Of course, not! I wasn’t anywhere near him!”

“Mister Gundabad,” said Thorin, his tone deadly calm, “do you have any evidence that Mister Durin has attacked you or are you trying to accuse him because of your grudge against him?”

“I was attacked in the library!” snarled Bolg. “Of course, it’s him! He’s always there, isn’t he?”

“So you did not see your attacker?” Thorin raised an eyebrow.

“I was stunned,” cried Bolg indignantly. “Of course, I didn’t see who did it! And when I woke up, I found that they had done these to me too,” he pointed at his feet and mouth. “But I knew it must be Durin! Nobody else has…”

“Actually I wasn’t in the library before dinner,” said Kíli. “I was with Professor Dáin outside his cabin. He needed someone to help look after the salamanders. You can ask him once he’s here. Fíli and Ori were with me too.”

“I can vouch for Kíli,” said Fíli, who had stood up from the Ravenclaw table. “He was with us the whole time and we came straight from Professor Dáin’s cabin to the Great Hall.”

“He’s your best friend,” sneered Bolg. “Of course, you’ll cover for him. But who knows if he hasn’t sneaked into the library to curse me before dinner?”

“It’s not possible,” said Thorin firmly. “Kíli, Fíli, and Ori arrived about 5 minutes ago and the journey from Professor Dáin’s cabin usually takes 30 minutes. So they must be in Professor Dáin’s cabin a little more than half an hour ago. If you have been stunned, it takes you at least an hour to wake up on your own. Kíli couldn’t have been your attacker.”

The vein next to Bolg’s temple pulsed threateningly but he had no response to that. The logic and facts were simply irrefutable. Taking pity on Bolg, Thorin sighed and said, “I can assure you that we will try our hardest to find the real culprit behind the attack. Now,” he waved his wand and Bolg’s toenails returned to their normal sizes, “please go back to your table so you can get something to eat.”

Once the commotions had finally died down, Kíli returned his gaze to the Gryffindor table. It was only then that he caught the mischievous grin on Tauriel’s face.

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“So you’re sure it was Tauriel who jinxed Bolg?” asked Ori when they were in the library after dinner.

“I haven’t asked her but I did tell her what happened in Astronomy class last night. She didn’t say anything at the time but if the look on her face during dinner today was anything to go by, I’m pretty sure,” smiled Kíli. “I’ve honestly never seen something so beautiful before, so full of mischief and…”

“Sounds like someone’s in love,” laughed Ori, which turned Kíli crimson red. “Oh, shush! It’s not like she’ll ever fancy me. I mean, she’s so…”

“Stranger things have happened,” said Ori with a gentle encouraging smile. “You’re absolutely wonderful, Kíli. Why won’t any girl fancy you? I mean honestly, that girl, what’s her name, Romola?”

“Romilda.”

“Ah right, Romilda. I mean she can’t get enough of you, can she? So why can’t Tauriel fancy you?”

Ori’s question did make Kíli think. Was it that impossible? He knew he was a nice person, a decent wizard, and, if he permitted some pride, did not look half bad. Maybe girls did fancy him for real. But then his thoughts turned to Tauriel, whose beauty, courage, kindness, wit, high spirit and charm meant that she was unlike anyone Kíli had ever met before. Of course, Kíli fancied her! If anything, he was surprised that it took two bloody curses at Bolg for him to finally realise that. Yet how could he possibly hope that Tauriel would return his feelings?

“Because,” sighed Kíli, “Tauriel is perfect and she deserves the very best. I’m only a third year and a half-Dwarf. I’m nothing compared to the likes of Cedric Diggory.”

“Ah, I forgot about Cedric Diggory,” the look on Ori’s face was sympathetic. “Don’t give up though. If she’s your One, you have to at least try. It’s not about perfection. You just need to be the right one for her.”

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When the weekend finally came, Kíli was almost relieved. He had barely seen Fíli in the past couple of days outside of classes because Fíli was busy with either Quidditch practice or impromptu tactics discussions. The growing animosity between Gryffindors and Ravenclaws had also unsettled Kíli. Ori was almost the only Ravenclaw he could talk to.

“And they’re acting as if they have already won the match,” said Bain indignantly when they were looking after the Hippogriffs during Care of Magical Creatures class, a task quite easy for Kíli since he had already learnt how to deal with the proud beautiful creatures. Fíli had been dragged away by one of his fellow Ravenclaws, undoubtedly to talk more about Quidditch, while Gimli was helping Professor Dáin because some students were having trouble with the Hippogriffs. This left Kíli to partner with Ori and Bain. “I mean, I know our chances are slim now that Cedric’s left but still. They shouldn’t act like we don’t matter. What if we beat them? Arrogant Ravenclaws. No offence, Ori.”

“None taken,” smiled Ori. “I understand how you feel. This is not even a Gryffindor Ravenclaw match yet everyone’s already acting like this. I just don’t understand how Quidditch can have such an effect on people. Look at Lindir, he’s practically obsessed. Fíli’s not far off either.”

“He’s just too nice to say no to others.” Kíli felt the need to defend his friend. “I don’t think he’s quite as possessed as some of the others.”

“You don’t know this side of Fíli,” Ori shook his head. “It doesn’t happen often but Fíli can get really competitive and obsessive. Guess it runs in the family. But I hope you’re right and he’s just participating in the madness because he’s too nice to say no.”

“I just hope they lose,” said Bain, gripping the hippogriff’s feathers a little too hard. Ori had to jump in to calm the Hippogriff down so it could not poke Bain’s eyes out. “I heard that Cedric is sneaking back into the castle to watch the match. Either that or he just needs an excuse to see Tauriel. Either way, if we can win, that will be the biggest upset of the year.”

Unfortunately, Bain’s wish did not come true. Despite Hufflepuff’s valiant effort, Ravenclaw was fundamentally a better team. Kíli could see Cedric, who was sitting next to Tauriel in the Hufflepuff stands, and the disappointed look on his handsome face. Suddenly, the loss of Hufflepuff seemed a lot more agreeable to Kíli.

“And the final score is, 320 to 150.” Lee Jordan’s voice echoed in the Quidditch Pitch. Hardly anyone was surprised by the results, although most of the Gryffindors were quite pleased. Since Ravenclaw only won by 170 points, Gryffindor was now in the lead in the Quidditch Cup, something that had not happened for quite some time.

“We need to celebrate,” Elladan’s excited voice was audible even above the din of the leaving crowd. “Where’s Tauriel?”

“She’s probably comforting Diggory, with her tongue down his throat no doubt,” sneered Elrohir. “I reckon she’ll be busy the whole night.”

“Elrohir!” Aragorn exclaimed, looking scandalised. “How can you say things like that in front of the younger students? Look at Kíli. He’s all red!”

“I’m fine,” said Kíli hastily, fearing that they would discover that his red face was actually from a source quite different from embarrassment. “Let’s just go back to the Gryffindor Common Room.”

The celebration in the Gryffindor Common Room lasted well into the night. Kíli wondered if their celebration was even bigger than the Ravenclaw’s, which was mental considering Gryffindor had not even won that match. He guessed that it was to be expected when you had the evil twins around.

Tauriel did not show up in the Gryffindor Common Room until an hour after curfew when the party was still in full swing. She would not look out of place at all, with her hair ruffled and her face red. What did set her apart, at least from the younger students, was her swollen lips. Kíli could feel a sharp pang of jealousy like a dagger to his heart. Before he could say anything, Tauriel was already accosted by the evil twins for even more drinks.

“So Tauriel then,” said Aragorn conversationally, making Kíli jump, “interesting choice.”

“What on earth do you mean?” Kíli could not help but get defensive. Did Aragorn think him not worthy too? “Is this because she’s an Elf and I’m only a half-Dwarf?”

“Of course not,” Aragorn looked genuinely surprised. “I will never hold one’s birth against them. It’s not something one can choose and I happen to believe that we’re all equal regardless of blood status and social standing.”

“Not everybody thinks like you though,” said Kíli grimly.

“I’ve heard about what happened in your Astronomy class. Don’t pay any attention to those people. Whoever is stupid enough to believe in that blood purity nonsense is not worth your time. Besides, Tauriel is an orphan. She hasn’t got a pair of unreasonable parents to stand in your way if you truly love each other, not that her parents, were they still alive, would ever do something like that.”

“Then what is the problem?”

“The problem is,” Aragorn leaned against Kíli’s armchair with a casual grace that Kíli knew he could never hope to possess, “Tauriel is taken, yet your heart still yearns for her. This will only lead to heartbreaks.”

“Brilliant,” muttered Kíli moodily, “I’m doomed.”

“Cheer up,” smiled Aragorn, “This could just be a crush. I’ve had other crushes before I realised Arwen is the one for me. If you look around, you’ll find that there are plenty of others with their eyes set on you and you only.”

“Oh, heaven forbid,” cried Kíli, a thought far more harrowing than not being with Tauriel had just struck him, “please tell me Romilda Vane is not my One!”

Aragorn burst out laughing and nearly choked on his butterbeer. “Oh, dear me! That would be quite a sight, wouldn’t it? But she’s not the only one, is she?”

“I’m not interested in any of those girls,” said Kíli firmly. The look Aragorn gave him was most peculiar. In the end, he simply smiled. “Maybe not. Only your heart can tell you what you truly want. Just don’t lose sight of what’s right in front of you when your eyes are fixed somewhere farther away.”

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The school had thankfully returned to normal after the first round of Quidditch matches. Fíli, for one, seemed eternally grateful for the extra time he now had to catch up on all the homework he had missed in the last couple of weeks.

“I can’t believe I’m so behind,” moaned Fíli when they were in the library. “I’ve got three chapters to read and translate for Quenya,” he picked up the thick Quenya textbook, more a weapon than a book, to emphasise his point, “one essay for Defence Against the Dark Arts on Grindylows, and a potion to practice. How can I get all of that done before tomorrow?”

“Huh?” Kíli felt he was justified to be distracted because two rows from them, Tauriel was working on her homework with Arwen. The easy friendship they shared was unmistakable as Tauriel was giggling and talking the whole time, making her more beautiful than ever.

“What are you looking at?” Fíli’s suspicious voice jolted Kíli out of his little secret observation. Turning his eyes back to Fíli hastily, Kíli smiled with as much conviction as he could muster, “nothing.”

Unfortunately, Fíli was not fooled. His eyes followed Kíli’s line of sight and landed on Tauriel. The look of utter disbelief and hurt on his face made Kíli’s heart sink. “Fíli… It’s not what you think.”

“I have no idea what you’re talking about.” The look on Fíli’s face, however, told Kíli the exact opposite. Trying desperately to explain, Kíli pleaded, “There’s nothing going on between us. She’s dating Cedric, remember? It’s not like I’m actually going to do anything. That’s why I didn’t tell you because nothing is going to change. I know you’re mad because I’ve hidden this from you but…”

“I just realised,” said Fíli with a forced smile on his face, “I need to see uncle about the potions. See you later then.” Then, without another word, Fíli closed his Quenya textbook loudly and rushed out of the library so fast as if chased by a horde of ravenous Black-Ended Skrewts, leaving Kíli there, rooted to the spot and completely lost as to what to do.

If Kíli thought Fíli’s ire at him was only temporary, he was sorely mistaken. For the next couple of weeks, Kíli found Fíli to be suspiciously busy, despite the much more relaxed Quidditch training schedule. Whenever Kíli tried to talk to him about what had happened, Fíli would always find a prior engagement that he had to attend to.

“Okay, so whatever is the matter with you and Fíli?” Unsurprisingly, Lindir was the first to ask Kíli about the situation. “This is affecting our Quidditch chances. Fíli’s form has been horrendous.”

Kíli had to fight hard not to roll his eyes. Typical Lindir to focus on something like Quidditch when more important things were at stake. It was not that Kíli had not tried. The worst part was, he did not even know how to fix it. Not that he could ever tell Lindir what had happened.

“Speaking of Quidditch, now that you’re talking to me again, have you asked the evil twins about someone sneaking into Hogwarts to curse the Snitch?” asked Kíli, partially to change the subject.

“I did,” nodded Lindir. “They swore they haven’t seen anyone who does not belong inside the castle.”

“Maybe Azog came to see Bolg and…” Kíli’s excitement was short-lived for Lindir interrupted his train of thought immediately. “I have actually asked them about Azog or any other dark wizards and they said no. As far as they are concerned, none of those cretins belongs to Hogwarts, no matter what the school board may think. But they are certain that Azog was not inside the castle during that time.”

Now feeling deflated, Kíli was at a loss as to what had happened. It seemed like Bolg had this invisible helper who did all his dirty work for him. How could it be? 

“Now, don’t change the subject. Come on, Kíli. You can tell me what has happened between you and Fíli,” Lindir tried his most earnest look, which simply made him look constipated. “I won’t tell a soul.”

“You’ll only take the mickey out of me,” snorted Kíli. “Then you’ll tell whoever’s willing to listen or just anyone with ears.”

“Well…” Lindir looked slightly sheepish but Kíli’s focus was no longer on him. Fíli had just walked into the Great Hall. When he saw Kíli at the Ravenclaw table, he simply turned around and walked towards the Hufflepuff table to sit next to a slightly bewildered Thorin Stonehelm-Ironfoot. This made Kíli’s heart sink.

“Fíli will come around.” Arwen’s soft voice made Kíli jump. Whipping his head around, Kíli found himself face to face with Arwen, whose beautiful blue eyes were full of understanding and wisdom.

“I don’t know,” muttered Kíli. Somehow it was easy to confess to Arwen. “He’s been avoiding me for more than two weeks. How can I fix anything if he won’t even talk to me?”

Arwen smiled, which had done its magic again because Kíli could not help but feel better. Surely things were not entirely hopeless when Arwen still had that radiant smile on her face. “I understand how you must feel. For you, two weeks may seem like a long time. But you need to understand that Fíli is very different from you. Ever since he was a child, he’s been caught to contain his emotions and use his rational mind instead.”

This only confused Kíli further. If Fíli was indeed that rational, should he not at least talk to Kíli to try to resolve the issue?

“Ah, but you see,” chuckled Arwen, “because he’s so rational all the time, Fíli’s emotions are much more intense and long-lasting. He, therefore, finds it hard to let it go when it finally takes hold of him like now. You, on the other hand, are emotional, expressive, and passionate. When you feel something, you let people know. Fíli is the exact opposite. Just give him time. Let him talk to you when he’s comfortable with it. You need to trust him and believe in your friendship.”

So Kíli did. For weeks he waited but his relationship with Fíli had barely thawed. It was true that Fíli was no longer avoiding him but Kíli knew his friend had not put this matter past them. For one thing, Fíli still refused to talk about what was really bothering him and for another, he always tensed up when he saw Kíli interact with Tauriel in any way.

Given their complicated relationship at the moment, Kíli fully expected not to be invited to Erebor for the Christmas holidays. After consulting with Madam McGonagall, Kíli had decided to stay in Hogwarts for the winter holidays, partly to catch up on his homework and partly to save some cost for the orphanage. He still did Christmas shopping for everyone and he had made an extra effort in choosing Fíli’s present. He wanted it to be something that Fíli would use all the time so he could be reminded of Kíli. His financial situation, however, meant that Kíli could hardly afford anything extravagant. After some deliberation, Kíli had settled on a nice little bead he found in a small antique shop in Hogsmeade. To make it even more special, Kíli had paid the shop owner to have the word “friendship” in Khuzdûl engraved on it. Wrapping it carefully, Kíli was planning to give it to Keeper on Christmas Eve to send to Erebor until…

“I’m not going back to Erebor for Christmas this year,” said Fíli matter-of-factly during one of their library revision sessions, barely looking up from his Arithmancy homework. “Uncle and Professor Dwalin are both staying in Hogwarts because they’re concerned about Azog and what he might do if they’re away. He’s on the school board after all. Mum is visiting some of our more distant relatives. Uncle wants her to strengthen our bond in case we need an ally. So I figured I’ll just stay here and keep uncle company.”

This for Kíli was the perfect opportunity. With the festivity around this time of the year and the drastically reduced number of residents inside the castle, Kíli was confident that he could get Fíli on his own to finally address the issue between them. It had been long overdue and Kíli could not wait to get their relationship back to what it was before.

Unfortunately, not everything was to Kíli’s liking. Bolg, as it turned out, was planning to stay in Hogwarts for Christmas too.

“Bolg is staying because his father plans to visit Hogwarts during that time. He said that he wants to inspect and discuss the running of the school with Professor Gandalf.” Lindir informed them during dinner the day before everyone else was leaving for the holidays. “As you can probably imagine, Professor Thorin is not happy about it.”

“So uncle’s concerns are completely valid,” whispered Fíli. “Azog is definitely planning something.”

“This is just brilliant,” said Kíli sarcastically. “I’m sure the presence of Azog and Bolg will just add to the festivities.” An idea suddenly struck him and he said with excitement, “maybe we can help your uncle and Professor Dwalin keep an eye on them. We’ve got no classes so surely 4 pairs of eyes are better than 2!”

“As long as we’re careful,” said Fíli seriously. “Even though it’s Christmas, I wouldn’t put it past Bolg or Azog to try something dodgy if he spots a chance.”

Even though the situation was not exactly ideal, Kíli was still thrilled to spend the Christmas holiday at Hogwarts for the first time ever. The castle had been decorated with all sorts of festive items, ranging from magical mistletoes that would trap whoever passed under until they were kissed, to live fairies on top of Christmas trees. Rumour has it that Dáin had volunteered some of his more interesting magical creatures but his idea was unanimously denied by all the other staff, which Kíli thought was very wise. Being maimed by one of Dáin’s beasts was a Christmas gift everyone could do without.

Having never spent Christmas in Hogwarts before, Kíli was wondering how he could sneak into the Ravenclaw Tower to deliver his present to Fíli until Ori explained.

“Just leave your presents by your bed and it will find its way to the rightful owner overnight,” said Ori with a wink, “just like magic.”

“But who delivers the present then?” asked Kíli in surprise. “I mean, someone must.”

Ori shrugged. “Maybe the ravens and owls? Nobody has asked. It’s just how it works in Hogwarts.”

Despite having spent more than two years in the Wizarding world, Kíli still found the everyday use of magic fascinating. While wizards like Ori took that for granted, Kíli understood how much of a difference that made. It just made everything so much easier. 

On Christmas Eve, Kíli was delighted to find the castle almost empty. As much as he liked the crowd during the terms, Kíli still enjoyed the occasional tranquillity. He spent most of the day with Fíli in Hogsmeade. Since the professors who stayed in the castle got the time off and had decided to visit the magical village, they had allowed the students to go too, which meant that, of course, Bolg was there as well. Kíli had managed to stay clear of the foul Slytherin until lunchtime when they all turned up in the Three Broomsticks.

“Done all your Christmas shopping, Durin,” sneered Bolg. “Must be an easy job for you seeing that you’ve got no money. Do you have to rummage in the garbage bin to find something or did you steal some money just like how your whore of a mother stole the magic?”

“Shut up, Gundabad!” Fíli had to keep a firm grip on Kíli while he shouted back at Bolg. “Don’t you dare insult Kíli and his mother! Kíli’s mum was 100 times the wizard you and your pathetic father can ever dream to be! Her magical talent surpassed your stupid father’s so that he could only resort to cheating to beat her.”

Bolg’s face turned an angry red. He did not, however, attack Fíli like Kíli thought he would. Instead, he simply smirked. “I’d watch out if I were you, Fíli Arken. Your uncle cannot protect you all the time. Who knows what might happen to you when he’s not looking.”

“Is that a threat?” The look on Fíli’s face was defiant.

“Just a friendly word of caution,” leered Bolg. “Who knows. Maybe Durin’s present from the rubbish pile will get you sick. After all, what can you expect from a pauper?”

“Don’t listen to a word of what he’s saying,” said Fíli firmly. “I’m sure I’ll love whatever you give me for Christmas. It’s the thought that counts.”

“I know.” Kíli was half relieved and half anxious. On one hand, he was so glad that Fíli had chosen to defend him vehemently against Bolg. It was as if nothing had happened between them and everything was back to normal. On the other hand, Kíli did feel a bit self-conscious about his present. Would Fíli like it? After all, it was not made of any expensive material nor did it have any precious stone on it. It looked nothing like the lavish jewellery that usually adorned Fíli’s person that Kíli almost regretted getting it. How could something so plain and cheap go with the rest of Fíli’s clothes?

The remainder of the Hogsmeade visit was, thankfully, without the unpleasant presence of Bolg. Fíli and Kíli were soon joined by Dwalin and a somewhat reluctant Thorin in the Three Broomsticks.

“Don’t mind him,” laughed Dwalin. “I dragged him here. If it’s left to him, he’ll be stuck in the castle working.”

“I just want to keep an eye on Azog,” replied Thorin darkly. “He has just arrived today and I’m sure he’ll lose no time in searching the castle for, well, let’s just say he’s up to no good.”

“Yeh can’t tail him all day,” said Dwalin exasperatedly. “It’s Christmas Eve!” He shoved a large pint of strong ale right under Thorin’s nose. “Relax a bit. I’m sure he won’t get what he wants this afternoon.”

“Fine,” conceded Thorin reluctantly, “but once I’m back in the castle, I’m going to keep Azog in my sight no matter what you say.”

“Professor Thorin sounds possessed,” whispered Kíli to Fíli, which unfortunately was not discreet enough.

“This is no laughing matter,” snapped Thorin, his eyes hard. “If Azog gets his hand on…”

“Shut it, Thorin,” said Dwalin before Thorin could lecture more. “The lad means no harm. Let them have some fun.”

Even though Thorin did not say anything, Kíli knew that he had not forgiven him for his frivolity. Yet again, Kíli found himself puzzled by the man in the most prominent family of Erebor. He still could not understand what he had done to offend Thorin so that his Potions professor was reverting to his old treatment of Kíli. Determined not to let Thorin ruin his holiday, however, Kíli did his best to converse with Dwalin, a rarity this year due to Kíli’s hectic schedule. He did not realise how much he had missed Dwalin’s comforting presence. The other two occupants of the table, Fíli and Thorin, on the other hand, did not seem to be in the festive mood at all. Both looked surly on as Kíli ate and drank and laughed with Dwalin.

When it was time to return to the castle, it was already dark outside. Stuffed with delicious food and drinks from the Three Broomsticks, Kíli simply could not stomach another mouthful of the Hogwarts food. Bidding everyone goodbye with the holiday greetings, Kíli went straight to the Gryffindor Tower to check on his presents one last time.

The Gryffindor Common Room, despite the lack of occupants, was still warm and cosy with a sizzling fire and beautiful Christmas decorations. Kíli wasted no time in settling in his favourite armchair in front of the fire. With a cup of tea in his hand, Kíli picked up a magazine left by one of the Gryffindors and was delighted to find that it was a Quidditch one, Seeker Weekly. The moving pictures inside depicted some of the most memorable moments of the Quidditch League matches that past week together with interviews of famous Quidditch players. Kíli wondered if the evil twins would be featured in one of those articles one day. It would not be a bad career, though Kíli drowsily, being a Quidditch star. Perhaps Tauriel would finally notice him if he became one. It was going to be hard but one could always dream.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm ready for all your pitchforks because of the Kíli/Tauriel romance lol.


	8. Chapter 8

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The first Christmas holiday in the castle did not exactly go as planned. After spending more time in the Hospital Wing than any sane person could tolerate, Kíli decided to take matters into his own hand. With Fíli very much preoccupied, Kíli had to turn to his other friends for a helping hand.

The next time Kíli woke up, it was the middle of the night and he was sore all over. Clearly, he had fallen asleep in the armchair, which was not the best idea in the world. Rubbing his eyes groggily, Kíli felt his stomach grumbling. Another bad decision, Kíli thought, skipping dinner. There was only one way for it. Kíli could only hope none of the staff members would be out patrolling the castle on Christmas Eve.

With most of its occupants gone, the castle was eerily quiet in the dead of the night. Kíli shuddered as he walked through the dark corridors. The sound of every single step he took was magnified and he was certain that there was someone lurking in the shadows. But who would be out at this time of the night?

“Bloody?” Kíli was surprised to find the same filthy-looking House Elf several corridors away from the Gryffindor Tower. The little House Elf jumped when he heard Kíli’s voice. As he whipped around to face Kíli, the look on Bloody’s face told Kíli that the House Elf was not pleased to be disturbed.

“What on earth are you doing here?” asked Kíli.

Bloody straightened up and looked at Kíli with narrowed eyes, something Kíli was not used to seeing in House Elves. “Bloody is working for master. Master give Bloody a job so Bloody have to finish it.”

“Alfrid makes you work at night on Christmas Eve?” Kíli was disgusted but not entirely surprised by the Caretaker’s laziness and cruel treatment of the House Elf. “Surely it can wait.”

“Master say it have to be done tonight,” squeaked Bloody. “Bloody is a good House Elf so Bloody do as Bloody is told.”

“Right,” sighed Kíli. The House Elves' desire to obey and serve was even more deeply ingrained than Kíli had previously imagined. “I won’t take up any more of your time then. Merry Christmas, Bloody.”

The rest of the journey to the kitchen was thankfully uneventful. After his encounter with Bloody, Kíli was not so shocked when he found at least half a dozen House Elves working in the kitchen at that time, including Blinky.

“Master Kíli,” cried Blinky in delight when he spotted Kíli, “what is Master Kíli want?”

“Hello, Blinky,” smiled Kíli, who found the clean House Elves in the kitchen a much-needed improvement to Bloody, “I’m wondering whether I can get some food if it’s not too much trouble.”

“No trouble!” squealed Blinky as he bowed deeply. “Blinky is happy to serve Mister Kíli!”

“Thank you so much, Blinky,” said Kíli gratefully as he soon found his arms laden with food. “You’re a lifesaver.”

“Master Kíli is too kind,” beamed Blinky with tears in his big eyes, “Blinky like Master Kíli.”

“That’s so sweet of you!” To be honest, Kíli was both touched and surprised by Blinky’s admission. During his albeit limited interaction with House Elves, Kíli had not seen any of them display any emotions other than the desire to serve and the fear of not fulfilling their master’s wishes. This was the first time a House Elf had expressed his own feelings, which made Kíli even more sympathetic towards this enslaved species. They might not be the brightest out there but they were incredibly loyal and capable of feeling emotions just like anyone else. What was happening to them right now was unfair at best, criminal at worst.

“Merry Christmas, Master Kíli,” Blinky’s cheerful voice brought a big smile on Kíli’s face, one that stayed even after he had left the kitchen to return to Gryffindor Tower. Once he was back to his dormitory, Kíli was pleased to find that all the presents he had left at the bedside were gone, undoubtedly picked up by ravens and owls to be delivered to the right party. Now with some food in his stomach and all his worries gone, Kíli fell asleep on his four-poster bed almost immediately.

\------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Kíli woke up early the next morning because, well, it was Christmas and he could hardly wait. Rushing to the Gryffindor Common Room, Kíli was delighted to find a decent pile of presents lying at the bottom of the Christmas Tree. He spent the next hour ripping wrapping papers. All the presents he had got this year were wonderful as ever. The best of them all was probably from Ori, a little locket filled with valerian roots, which was supposed to calm his nerves and help him with his nightmares. Kíli smiled at his friend’s gentle thoughtfulness. The nightmares still plagued him, even though he had learnt to live with it. Knowing Ori, Kíli knew this would help. Ori knew his herbs.

One other pleasant surprise was the gift from Thorin. Given their rocky relationship, Kíli half expected Thorin not to give him anything. So when he saw the heavy-looking square box with Thorin’s handwriting on it, Kíli felt his heart skip a beat. Unwrapping it hastily, Kíli found a book on Occlumency, something he had never heard of before. After he had flipped through the first several pages, Kíli deduced that it was a book about closing one’s mind from Legilimency, the art of reading others’ minds. It was just like Professor Charles Xavier from X-Men, thought Kíli, somewhat amused. Magic never failed to amaze him. He supposed the reason Thorin gave it to him was to help him close his mind at night so as not to be bothered by nightmares, which was quite typical Thorin. He would never hand something to you on a plate. One always has to work for what they truly want.

It was only after he had finished unwrapping his presents that Kíli realised he was starving. It was still early in the day so he wondered if Fíli was awake or not. Dying to see Fíli’s reaction when he opened Kíli’s present, Kíli decided to put his hunger aside and head straight to the Ravenclaw Tower, hoping to catch Fíli there when he was opening his presents.

The one delay Kíli did not anticipate was having to answer the question of the eagle knocker. He had always had someone like Fíli or Ori with him so he never had to answer the question himself before. Now, however, there was no one to come to his rescue.

“Can I get something easy please?” Kíli pleaded with the eagle knocker, who remained resolutely passive.

“If you have me, you want to share me. If you share me, you haven't got me. What am I?”

“Er,” Kíli stammered. He had absolutely no clue what the eagle was talking about. Something he wanted to share? There were loads of things he was willing to share. Kíli was never a selfish or controlling person. What he wanted to share, however, was a different story. His first thought was memories, for he wanted to share all his memories with Fíli. But he would still have them after he had shared them. If anything, sharing them with Fíli would only make those memories more precious. So what was it?

“Can you give me a hint?” asked Kíli with his best puppy dog eyes. Unfortunately, the eagle knocker was only charmed to ask questions and nothing else so Kíli’s charm was decidedly wasted on it. As the minutes went by, Kíli could hear the noises from the Ravenclaw Common Room. Fíli was probably up and about, even opening the presents, while Kíli was wasting his time here on a stupid riddle.

“I don’t know what I want to share, okay?” said Kíli in exasperation. “There are quite a few, you see. I’ll honestly share anything I have. The only thing I even need to think about before sharing is someone else’s secret because I…” And just like that, it dawned on him, “It’s a secret!”

“Quite right,” said the eagle knocker sagely as it swung open the door to let Kíli in.

Still unable to believe his luck, Kíli was slightly dazed until he saw Fíli sitting next to the Christmas Tree. He beamed when he spotted Kíli and waved him over. “Speak of the devil. I’m just about to open your present.” Kíli’s eyes followed the direction of Fíli’s finger and sure enough, his own gift, neatly wrapped in blue, Fíli’s favourite colour, was sitting on top of a pile of presents. Yet something felt terribly wrong.

“No!” cried Kíli when Fíli reached out his hand to grab the parcel. But it was too late. Fíli’s finger was only centimetres away from the parcel when Kíli threw himself in front of Fíli, knocking his friend backwards.

“What the…” Fíli’s exclamation was drowned by Kíli’s screaming. His elbow had brushed past the parcel and all Kíli could feel was excruciating pain, as if someone was poking him with a thousand red-hot needles. The next thing he knew, blissful darkness had engulfed him.

\-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

It really should not surprise him when Kíli woke up to find himself at the Hospital Wing, feeling completely drained and hurting everywhere. The only thing that made this whole ordeal worthwhile and bearable was sitting right next to his bed.

“Oh, Kíli!” cried Fíli the moment he caught Kíli’s eyes. It looked as if it took all Fíli’s self-constraints not to throw himself at Kíli. The emotions flitting across his face were so fast and intense that Kíli almost had a hard time deciphering it. But he could still make out relief, guilt, and gratitude.

“Are you alright?” asked Kíli and Fíli half laughed half choked. “Oh, Kíli! Of course, I’m alright. You’re the one who’s cursed. I…” Fíli stopped as he was overwhelmed.

“It’s okay,” smiled Kíli. The look on Fíli’s face made everything worthwhile. If he had known that saving Fíli from a dark curse would bring back their friendship, Kíli would have done it much sooner. “I’m okay so no need to worry.”

“I’m so sorry,” whispered Fíli, his eyes wet, “for everything. I was being stupid and completely unfair to you. I won’t blame you if you’re angry with me because I have been such a git. Yet you still saved my life, despite everything. Kíli!”

“I would have done it 10 times over,” said Kíli earnestly and he meant every word. No matter what had happened between Fíli and him, Fíli was still his best friend, someone he trusted, someone he would do anything to protect. He did everything by instinct and he knew he would have done the same every single time.

Since Kíli was still barely recovering and very fragile, Fíli could only express his feelings by squeezing Kíli’s hand hard. Smiling at his friend, Kíli squeezed back in what he hoped was a reassuring way. This seemed to calm Fíli down. Taking a deep breath, Fíli steadied himself and asked in a typical Fíli manner, “how did you know there was something wrong?”

“I Sensed it,” said Kíli. Even though he did not fully comprehend it at the time, the answer was obvious now. Kíli had never been so grateful for his gift. It had saved his and Fíli’s neck so many times. “I just knew something was not right about the parcel. It must be the strong dark magic coming from it so I had to stop you from touching it. What kind of curse is on it anyway?”

“The darkest kind,” said Fíli grimly. “Uncle and Dwalin won’t tell me the details. Said it was too dark and too advanced for me anyway. All I know is that it took both of them and Professor Gandalf to save you and that’s only because you only grazed it with a small exposed part on your elbow. There was a hole on your jumper. If you had touched it with your hand like I would have done, you’d be dead almost on the spot, before any of them could even reach you.”

Kíli shuddered. He knew the curse was dark and powerful; he had pretty much felt it when he was close to it. Yet he had never imagined it would be so deadly. Someone seriously wanted him, or rather Fíli, dead. His narrow escape now seemed extremely fortuitous, which did nothing to calm his nerves.

“Do we know who placed the curse on the present?” asked Kíli but he sort of knew the answer already. Fíli would have told him if the identity of the culprit was known. Sure enough, Fíli shook his head. “No, uncle has no idea. And before you say it, it’s not Azog or Bolg.”

“But…”

“It can’t have been,” sighed Fíli. “They were, of course, our first suspects but they had to be ruled out quickly. Azog did not even leave his room. Uncle put the ward on his room so whenever Azog leaves the room, uncle will be notified.”

“What if he has managed to break the ward and leave his room without anyone noticing?” Kíli was not convinced. Brilliant wizard Thorin might be, Azog was known for his prestigious magical skills and advanced knowledge in the Dark Arts. He did not gain the Dark Lord’s favour for nothing after all. Kíli would not be surprised if Azog knew some dark magic that Thorin had no knowledge of.

“Don’t ever let uncle hear you say it,” smiled Fíli. “But let’s just say, for argument’s sake, that is a possibility. Still, the fact remains that the Fat Lady did not see either of them entering the Gryffindor Common Room last night.”

This was a real blow. If Azog and Bolg did not enter the Gryffindor Common Room, it was highly unlikely that they could have cursed the present, which Kíli was sure was safe when he put it at his bedside the night before.

“So who did the Fat Lady see then?”

“That’s the problem,” frowned Fíli. “She didn’t see anyone entering Gryffindor Common Room last night.”

“But that doesn’t make sense,” said Kíli. “Someone must have got inside my room to curse the present.”

“Uncle and Dwalin are looking into different possibilities,” Fíli gave Kíli’s hand a reassuring squeeze. “Both of them are determined to find out the real culprit.”

“It has to be Bolg and Azog,” muttered Kíli. “Who else wants you dead so badly? This must be linked to my attack. They look too similar to be disconnected.”

Fíli nodded. “I think you’re right. Uncle and Dwalin are investigating both as linked cases.”

“We need to investigate on our own,” said Kíli firmly. “Remember last year? We solved the mystery that has puzzled generations of wizards inside the castle. I’m sure we can do the same, especially with my Sense and everything.”

“But we have nothing to go on,” said Fíli. “Where do we even start? Not to mention that we’ve got tons of homework to do.”

Kíli rolled his eyes. Of course, Fíli would bring up homework, which was probably one of the most sacred things to Fíli. Fíli, however, did not seem amused. “I’m not joking. This is serious, Kíli. Someone wants to kill us both! The magic they have used is way beyond our level. We’re not ready to face that kind of magic. Our investigation will only put us in danger.”

Kíli had to concede that Fíli made a good point. Yet he would not be who he was if he would be deterred so easily. Sitting back and doing nothing while someone was out there ready to strike at any moment simply was not Kíli’s style. Gulping down the foul potion Fíli had handed him, Kíli vowed secretly to find out what was going on on his own. He knew he could do it. He just did.

One of the bonus points of his accident was that Thorin’s attitude towards Kíli had thawed significantly. Even though Thorin did not express it explicitly, Kíli knew Thorin was impressed and grateful for Kíli’s heroic actions that had practically saved Fíli’s life. Dís, on the other hand, was less subtle. Her appearance in the castle right before the end of the holidays took both Fíli and Kíli by surprise.

“Mum?” Fíli’s cry of surprise was drowned by Dís’s tight embrace. “Mum!”

“Oh, my kidhuzurâl!” Dís’s eyes were watery. “When I heard what had happened from Thorin, I…” She turned to Kíli and engulfed him in an even tighter hug, “and you, my dear mizimith. You saved my kidhuzurâl’s life! How are you feeling? I can’t even imagine! You scared me half to death. Both of you! Just imagine if anything has happened to you, I…”

“We’re fine, mum,” said Fíli as he put a consoling hand on his mother’s arm. “Everything’s okay now. No need to worry.”

“How can I not worry?” sniffled Dís. “You got lucky this time. I can’t even imagine what would happen if Kíli did not show up on time or if Kíli’s hand touched the cursed thing. You both could be dead!”

“We’ll be extra careful from now on,” promised Kíli. “I’ve got my Sense so I reckon we can stay out of danger most of the time.”

“Please,” cried Dís as she extended her hand to embrace both of them. “Do take care of yourselves. Don’t go looking for trouble, please. I can’t bear to lose either of you!”

\-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Despite Dís’s pleading, Kíli simply could not rest until he had identified the true perpetrator. Now that Fíli could not help, Kíli had to work on his own. The biggest obstacle, of course, was the lack of any sort of clues. Kíli briefly toyed with the idea of talking to Azog to see if he could find out anything from the former Death Eater. Before he could pursue this foolhardy plan, however, Azog had left the school since the holidays were over. His next target for questioning was, therefore, the Fat Lady and the Eagle bronze knocker. After interrogating both, the latter conversation being one of the most one-sided and repetitive ones in Kíli’s life, and looking up books after books on ways to get into either Common Room secretly to no avail, Kíli had to concede that he could not do this on his own. He needed some help, desperately.

“So you’re looking for some way to get into the Gryffindor or Ravenclaw Common Room without using the entrance,” said Tauriel, her finger tapping her chin thoughtfully. “I don’t think it’s possible, Kíli.”

“I know,” sighed Kíli, now slumped in the armchair. “All my research has told me pretty much the same. You can’t Apparate inside Hogwarts and the fireplaces inside the Common Rooms are closed off during the holidays. The only other possibility I can think of is them somehow getting in through the window but this was Christmas. The windows are closed.”

“And once they’re closed, they’re warded,” added Tauriel. “So I doubt they can break in through that.”

“Maybe they have managed to dismantle the ward,” said Kíli without much conviction. “I just don’t know how else you can get in.”

“There might be a way for us to find out,” said Tauriel thoughtfully. “Mind you, the existence of such a map is as much of a rumour amongst Gryffindors as the Chamber of Secrets. But maybe the evil twins do have it.”

Now Kíli was utterly confused. “What on earth are you talking about?”

“Rumour has it,” said Tauriel with a grin, “there has been a map that shows not only all the secret passways in and out of Hogwarts but also everyone inside the castle.”

Kíli gulped. How was that even possible? Could magic truly do such wonders? “Is that why they know everything?”

“Presumably,” shrugged Tauriel, “or they’re just very nosy. Either way, we should ask them to find out, don’t you think?”

“So if they have the map,” said Kíli as inspiration suddenly hit him, “maybe they have seen who was in my dormitory that night!”

“It is a possibility,” mused Tauriel. “But I doubt it. It is Christmas Eve and I suspect it happened late at night. The twins must be asleep or planning some mischief, not staring at the map.”

“Right,” said Kíli, a bit crestfallen, “so even if we do manage to borrow the map, we won’t know who did it.”

“That might be so. But at least we will be able to monitor the activities of everyone around you and Fíli. And if we see anything suspicious, we can track them down.”

Persuading the twins to lend them the map had been surprisingly easy. The moment Tauriel opened her mouth, the twins laughed and rummaged in their school bags to find the map.

“This is the Marauder’s Map,” said Elladan as he unfolded the map. Kíli expected to see something magical but all there was in front of his eyes was a blank piece of parchment, which was quite anticlimactic.

“It only reveals its secret if you know the right password,” grinned Elrohir when he saw the disappointed look on Kíli’s face. “Otherwise, it’s just a plain old piece of parchment. That’s why Alfrid never finds out about the true usage of the map after so many years. Yes,” he nodded with a smirk, “we nicked it from Alfrid’s office in our second year. I don’t know who made it originally but Alfrid must have confiscated it. So you can say we liberated it so it can be put into proper use.”

Kíli watched in amazement as Elladan tapped his wand lightly on the parchment and said, “I solemnly swear that I’m up to no good”. No sooner had he finished the sentence than the ink appeared on the parchment. In less than a minute, Kíli found himself staring at Hogwarts in the parchment, which was littered with little moving dots that represented…

“Is that Professor Nori?”

“Sneaking out of Hogwarts?” laughed Elladan. “Yes. He does that a lot. And his destination is usually the Three Broomsticks.”

“Where he gets food, drinks, and the company of a fine lady,” winked Elrohir suggestively. Tauriel rolled her eyes and swatted Elrohir’s head with her hand. Glaring at her, Elrohir continued, “there are 7 secret passageways in and out of Hogwarts. One of them, the one behind a mirror on the fourth floor, is caved in. Our modified dungbomb was a tad more powerful than anticipated. Poor Alfrid, it took him a good week to clean up the mess.” The reminiscent smile on Elrohir’s face told Kíli plainly that he did not feel sorry at all. “Out of the rest 6, Alfrid knows 3 of them so I wouldn’t suggest using those. I’m not sure if he knows the one behind the statue of Gregory the Smarmy so I’d give it a wide berth too unless you’re seriously desperate. So that leaves only two.”

“One of them is underneath the Whomping Willow,” said Elladan and Kíli understood him immediately. The mad tree planted close to the Forbidden Forest had the unfortunate tendency to go berserk and start attacking anything that so much as touched it. Kíli doubted that anyone could use it to go in and out of Hogwarts without being seriously maimed. “So that leaves…”

“The passage beneath a one-eyed witch statue by the stairs to the Defence Against the Dark Arts classroom,” nodded Elladan. “It leads to the cellar of Honeydukes. We use it all the time to get into Hogsmeade.”

“Have you noticed anything unusual in any of your little excursions?” asked Kíli eagerly. “Can someone infiltrate Hogwarts via that passageway?”

“We haven’t noticed anything but I reckon anything’s possible,” shrugged Elrohir. “It can’t be how this unknown attacker got inside Hogwarts during Christmas though. We checked the map before we went to bed and didn’t see anyone who shouldn’t be inside the castle. If they did manage to get in, it must be after we’ve gone to bed. But Honeydukes was closed by that time so unless the owner of Honeydukes is working with them…”

“Maybe you have missed them,” insisted Kíli, which he thought was quite reasonable. It was a lot to keep track of everyone. Elrohir, on the other hand, snorted. “You clearly don’t know us well enough. We know literally everyone.”

“Staring at everyone’s names since our second year certainly helps,” Elladan grinned. “Besides, it’s a lot easier during the holiday season. With the majority of the residents gone, it’s easy to see the few left. As a matter of fact, it would’ve been a piece of piss had it not been for the ghosts and House Elves.”

“Why are you looking at the map anyway?” asked Tauriel, frowning. “You weren’t even in Hogwarts!”

“Let’s just say that we’ve received a request from a certain professor,” said Elladan with a diplomatically blank face, even though the wink he gave Kíli somehow ruined the effect. “In exchange for a blind eye to our, er, less licit activities, we’re asked to keep an eye on certain individuals inside the castle.”

“Who asked you and who are you supposed to monitor?” asked Kíli eagerly. He felt his heart thumping. Surely it was who he was thinking of.

“Alas, we can’t tell you!” said Elrohir, throwing his hands up in the air dramatically. “The gentleman who asked us made us promise not to tell anyone. But,” he grinned, “I can tell you that we no longer need to worry about the target since he’s no longer in Hogwarts.”

So it was Azog, thought Kíli with grim satisfaction. He wasn’t completely wrong. “Did you find anything unusual during his stay?”

Elladan shook his head. “Not really. He certainly wandered around inside the castle but he did not go anywhere strange. Nor did he really talk to anyone other than his son, some House Elves, and of course the professors.”

Sighing, Kíli had to accept the possibility that Azog was indeed not directly responsible. Taking the map from Elladan, Kíli pointed his wand at it and said, as Elladan had instructed, “Mischief managed,” which wiped all traces of ink from the parchment, making it as innocuous as any blank parchment. “Thank you so much for letting me borrow it.”

“Of course,” Elladan waved his hand airily. “We’re graduating and we know all the secret passageways already anyway so we don’t need it anymore. You may have much better use for it.”

“Take it, young Kíli,” Elrohir out his hand on Kíli’s shoulder and sighed in a theatrical tone, “and may you find good use of it. Let the spirit of mischief live long in the castle!”

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The possession of the Marauder’s Map proved a great distraction for Kíli, as he spent most of his time the week after with his eyes fixed on the map whenever he was by himself. For reasons he could not explain, Kíli found it utterly fascinating to watch the little dots move inside the castle, going about their day-to-day business. If he had paid Bolg, Tauriel, and Fíli a little bit more attention, for different reasons of course, then no one was any the wiser.

“Have you found anything useful?” asked Tauriel the other day at dinner. Kíli was sitting at the Gryffindor table because Fíli was dragged into a last-minute Quidditch practice. Shaking his head, Kíli said, “I guess it depends on your definition of useful. For finding out who the attacker is, not really. For some juicy gossip, very! I can’t believe Elrohir has brought 3 different girls to his room in the past week!”

Tauriel’s tinkling laugh almost made Kíli forget all his troubles. “That’s so typical Elrohir. Sometimes you wonder if he’s actually an Elf. Poor Elladan. He must put up with a lot with Elrohir in his room.”

The words came out of Kíli’s mouth before he could stop it. “So how’s everything with you and Cedric?”

The pink blush and the shy yet sweet smile on Tauriel’s face was as clear a giveaway as a confession. So used to seeing the brave and fiery look, Kíli found this new side of Tauriel so very endearing. The only problem was, of course, that the smile was not for him. Kíli could feel the jealousy eating him away but he had to pretend nothing was wrong because he could not afford to lose Tauriel’s friendship.

“We’re meeting in Hogsmeade for Valentine’s Day,” said Tauriel who could barely conceal her joy. “I know it hasn’t been that long since we saw each other during the holidays but still…” Putting her hands on her burning cheeks, she turned to face Kíli, “what about you? Is everything okay between you and Fíli?”

The truth was, Kíli did not have the answer himself. It was true that Fíli was no longer mad at him after the incident on Christmas Day. Yet Kíli still found it hard to spend time with Fíli since the start of the term. Homework and Quidditch practice aside, his own secret investigation had also contributed to the problem. “It’s fine, I suppose. We’ll probably go to Hogsmeade together. I’m sure Lindir and Oliver won’t schedule Quidditch practices on Valentine’s Day!”

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Valentine’s Day arrived a lot faster than Kíli would have liked. He spent a good half hour in bed before breakfast, staring at the dot of Tauriel in her dormitory, undoubtedly getting ready for this special day. The thought of her and Cedric spending a romantic day together was pure torture for Kíli yet he could not help but dwell on the thought. What if Tauriel was his One? Was he doomed to be alone for the rest of his life?

“Everything alright?” asked Fíli when Kíli finally turned up for breakfast. Shrugging, Kíli started piling food onto his plate. Food seemed to be his only comfort now.

“Where do you want to go in Hogsmeade today?” asked Fíli again, trying to keep the conversation going. Kíli, however, was not really in the mood. He was certain that everywhere in Hogsmeade would be decorated with stupid romantic trinkets and whatnot. The prospect of bumping into Tauriel and Cedric made the trip even less appealing. Maybe he should use this time to work on solving the mystery of the attack.

“Okay, that’s enough!” Fíli put his fork down with a loud clang, which finally drew Kíli’s attention. “I know you’re upset about this particular holiday but that’s quite enough moping! It’s hardly the end of the world.”

Kíli sighed. He knew that he was not the best company at the moment but he simply could not help himself. Looking at Fíli imploringly, Kíli asked in a small voice, “What if Tauriel is my One?” All the blood had drained from Fíli’s face but Kíli was too preoccupied with his own feelings to notice that. “I mean I’m half Dwarf so maybe I do have a One. What if she’s it? I mean Elves aren’t like Men, are they? Well, maybe except Elrohir but most of them aren’t. They’re more like Dwarves, aren’t they? What if Cedric is the one for her? I’ll have to spend the rest of my life alone and heartbroken.”

The silence that followed did nothing to reassure Kíli. When Fíli finally spoke, however, his tone was purposefully calm as if he was trying hard not to lose control. “I won’t set too much store on teenage crushes and dalliances. One cannot know their true self let alone their true heart at such a young age. You will develop feelings for people who are not your One because it’s all part of the experience. It’s only through those failed relationships that you find what your soul truly needs.”

“But I thought my parents found each other while they were in Hogwarts,” said Kíli, remembering the conversations he had with Dwalin and Dís about his parents. “So did your parents. Surely that means you know it when you…”

“Not everyone is the same,” said Fíli patiently. “Your father and my mother are different because they come from ancient Pureblood families where people tend to mature a lot faster. It’s, therefore, understandable for them to find their One before others do. But for someone like you or Tauriel, who did not grow up with heavy expectations and responsibilities, it may take a bit longer to find out what the most important thing to you is. So do not despair. Your feelings towards Tauriel might change. So can hers towards Cedric.”

Even though it was not exactly a solution to his problem, Kíli did feel slightly less desperate. Grinning sheepishly, he said, “Thanks a million, mate! It really helps. Sometimes I envy you. You must have everything all figured out.”

“Be careful what you wish for,” muttered Fíli, his eyes downcast. “It can be as much of a blessing as a curse.” Before Kíli could ask him what he meant by his cryptic words, however, Fíli rose from his seat and said, “Shall we head out now? I don’t want to wait till dark to come back.”


	9. Chapter 9

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Valentine's Day turned out to be not as fun for Kíli this year. Fortunately, he still had got Quidditch

Their trip to Hogsmeade was uneventful enough until they had reached the edge of the castle. Out in the ground, Kíli saw a dirty little figure hurrying back into the castle. “Bloody?”

It was indeed Bloody, except he looked even more dishevelled and filthy than before. His clothes, if it could even be called that, was so filthy that it looked more like rags than clothes. His left hand was also wrapped in thick bandages.

“What on earth has happened to you, Bloody? Is your hand alright?” asked Kíli, feeling concerned about the little House Elf. Next to him, Fíli stared at Bloody before turning to Kíli and mouthed “Bloody?”. Kíli ignored him.

“Bloody is fine, young sir,” squeaked the little House Elf, his eyes wide. Kíli, however, was not convinced.

“Fine? Your hand looked like that of a mummy. What has happened?”

“Bloody is a bad House Elf!” Bloody shrieked before he started looking around for something. Before Kíli or Fíli could figure out what on earth was going on, Bloody had found what he was looking for. Picking up a thick tree branch with his good hand, Bloody started beating his head with it.

“Bloody hell!” Kíli was so shocked that he practically froze on the spot. Fortunately, Fíli was a little bit more used to this particular trait of the House Elves. Wrenching the branch out of Bloody’s hand with ease, Fíli said loudly, “Bloody, stop this, now!”

This direct order had the desired effect on Bloody, who froze and looked at Fíli with terrified eyes, which gave Kíli the opportunity to ask, “What the hell was that all about?”

“House Elves are magically bound to punish themselves if they fail their masters in any way,” sighed Fíli. “It is, in my opinion, quite backwards but I don’t think there’s anything we can do about it.”

“Backwards?” said Kíli incredulously. “This is downright barbaric! How could someone put this kind of spell on another intelligent species?”

Fíli shifted his weight from one foot to the other awkwardly. “Well, it’s just how House Elves have been created. Always obey your master no matter what, punish yourself if you fail, keep the secrets of your masters, never lie to them.” He suddenly stopped. “Maybe we can ask Bloody if he has seen anything strange that night. House Elves get around a lot inside the castle and nobody pays them any attention. They may see something that others don’t. Besides, he’s bound by his magic to tell us everything he knows and he can’t lie. We can even use him to spy for us.”

As much as Kíli hated the conditions of the House Elves’ magical enslavement, he had to concede that it did make things a lot easier for the Wizards to have such an obedient servant who could do all sorts of things for their master. He now began to understand the temptation their ancestors must have felt when they had the power to create such a species.

“Fine. But we’re not giving him an order that he has to obey,” said Kíli firmly. “I don’t want him to punish himself if he fails our request. It has to be something that he’s willing to do. Something he’s helping us with.”

“Of course,” said Fíli with a sigh of relief. He turned to Bloody with a kind smile on his face. “Bloody, is it? Can I ask you a question? Have you seen anything strange or anyone behaving strangely around the Gryffindor or Ravenclaw Tower on the night of Christmas Eve?”

The House Elf’s eyes widened even further to a comical size. He looked from Fíli to Kíli, who said in a soft encouraging tone, “It’s okay, Bloody. You’re not in any trouble. Whatever you tell us will only help us.”

This seemed to have finally made up Bloody’s mind. He straightened his little body and shook his head. “Bloody do not see anything that night. Bloody is being a good House Elf and stayed in bed with the other House Elves.”

Feeling quite disappointed, Kíli still managed to keep his smile on his face. “Thanks, Bloody. This is extremely helpful.” He stopped, trying to phrase his next request as casually as possible, “you know, Bloody, if you ever happen to see or hear anything, would you mind telling us about it? No need to go out of your way to do it but just in case you do.”

Bloody gave them a long look before nodding. “Yes, Bloody will tells sirs if he see anything important.”

“Thank you so much, Bloody!” said Kíli, hardly able to contain his excitement. Once they had bid Bloody goodbye to continue to Hogsmeade, Fíli turned to Kíli. “This is the filthiest House Elf I’ve ever seen. You can’t even tell what he’s wearing.”

Kíli shrugged. “I think he might be working for Alfrid. You know what he’s like.”

“Poor thing,” said Fíli, shaking his head, “it’s one thing to work for someone, quite another to work for Alfrid.”

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Just as Kíli had predicted, Hogsmeade was decorated with a sickeningly romantic theme that Kíli felt the garish pink was hurting his eyes. As if that was not enough, the village was also filled with lovey-dovey couples. Kíli looked away purposefully, not wishing to catch a glimpse of Tauriel and Cedric.

“Shall we go to Honeydukes?” asked Fíli. “I’m running low on the sweets and need to restock.”

Kíli’s initial reaction was reluctance. A sweet shop was the worst place on Valentine’s Day in his opinion. Then an idea suddenly struck him. “Okay, but let’s go and check out the door to the secret passageway too!”

Honeydukes was packed, just as expected. Kíli and Fíli had to fight their way through the crowd to get the sweets Fíli wanted. The only advantage of this chaos was that it was extremely easy to slip into the cellar without anyone noticing.

“So how do we find this door?” asked Kíli as he looked around the cellar, which was a large room kept dark and cool. Boxes upon boxes of sweets lined the wall. They were stacked so high that they almost reached the ceiling. The smell in the store, which was pleasant if a tad eccentric mix of all the sweets, was almost overbearingly strong here. The room was so stuffed with stocks of sweets that Kíli found it hard to even move around. “It’s so packed.”

“Well, we know that there’s no building around Honeydukes,” reasoned Fíli, “so it must be on the floor. It can’t be anywhere that can be used as storage. So…” he walked around the space in front of the staircases while tapping his feet until they heard a hollow sound. Grinning at each other, both dropped onto the floor.

A closer inspection at the floor revealed a well-disguised trapdoor. Kíli yanked it open eagerly while Fíli looked around to make sure no one was coming down the stairs. A set of stairs descended into a tunnel that was just wide enough for one person to pass through.

“Do you think someone can somehow sneak into Hogwarts that way at night?”

“Unless they break into Honeydukes,” said Fíli. “Come on, let’s get out of here.”

Their next destination was the Three Broomsticks since it was almost lunchtime. The normally popular tavern was even more packed than before. Kíli looked around while he was queueing for a table and soon spotted something unexpected. “Is that,” Kíli had to look again to make sure he was not hallucinating, “Gimli with a girl?”

“Blimey, yes,” laughed Fíli. “I thought Professor Gloín was only planning his marriages. I didn’t know he had already put his plan into action.”

The idea that some magical families practised arranged marriages was still baffling to Kíli. “I still don’t understand this. How could Gimli go out with a girl he doesn’t love?”

“They’re not exactly getting married tomorrow,” grinned Fíli. “It doesn’t hurt to go out with someone if you’re not sure where your heart lies yet. How do you even know if someone’s right for you if you don’t get to know them?”

That was a fair point, Kíli thought. He supposed he could do something like this if he was not hopelessly in love with Tauriel. “Why don’t you go out with someone then? I’ve never seen you interact with any girls. Surely your mum and uncle will want you to go and find a nice girl and start a nice family.”

Fíli opened his mouth and closed it again. Kíli could tell there was something behind Fíli’s hesitation. Was Fíli in love with someone already? This realisation hit Kíli hard. He felt somehow betrayed even though he could not tell why. He reasoned that it must be because Fíli had kept this crush, if it existed, a secret from him. He was Fíli’s best friend after all and he should know such things. Was this how Fíli felt when he discovered Kíli’s feelings about Tauriel?

“I’m not going to date anyone,” said Fíli firmly. “Mum and uncle cannot force me to do anything. Mum won’t anyway but even if uncle does, I will not give in, not on something as important as this.”

“I know how you feel. I can’t imagine giving up Tauriel no matter who pressures me.” This had not elicited the desired response from Fíli. Instead, he looked even more upset than before if that was possible.

“Well, whatever you do, I’ll always support your decision,” said Kíli as he patted Fíli bracingly on the shoulder. Fíli finally gave him a reluctant smile. The arrival of the waiter to announce their table was ready was a welcoming distraction. Wolfing down his food eagerly, Kíli almost missed Fíli’s question.

“Are you still having nightmares now?”

Kíli shrugged. The truth was that he had long learnt to deal with the nightmares. He had to because he had no other choice. After many sleepless nights, Kíli simply crashed due to exhaustion. He had tried so many different methods but to no avail. Ori’s locket was the only thing that helped him fall asleep but the nightmares kept coming. The only other thing that had any positive impact was Thorin’s book on Occlumency. Kíli had tried the method inside to clear his mind before he went to bed every night, which had worked but only sporadically. Being an emotional person, Kíli found it very hard to close his mind. Moreover, he started to get dreams that were certainly from Thorin but had nothing to do with his parents’ death. Even though they had only occurred a handful of times, Kíli was still concerned. At first, he thought his connection with Thorin was because of their shared emotion and experience of his parents’ tragedy. Now he was not so certain. Why on earth would he dream about some complex Potions research that he did not understand or fighting Death Eaters in the last Wizarding War? Why did he and Thorin share this connection?

“Kíli?” Fíli’s voice was filled with curiosity and slight concern, “still with me?”

“Ah, right,” smiled Kíli sheepishly, “got a bit distracted. Anyway, yeah I’m still having nightmares but I sort of know how to deal with them now so it’s fine.”

Fíli opened his mouth to say something but what came out was a loud ‘meow’. 

“What?” Kíli was utterly confused until he saw Mister Lock shooting from under the table. It appeared that Fíli had accidentally kicked it when it was hiding under the table. Hissing menacingly, Mister Lock arched its back with all its hair standing on end.

“Oh dear,” said Kíli as he eyed Mister Lock warily. It looked extremely cross and more than ready to make them pay for what they had done. Fortunately, the arrival of Dwalin prevented a possible bloodbath.

“Everything alright, lads?” asked Dwalin in a booming voice. “How come two strapping young lads like yerself aren’t with some pretty lasses?”

Fíli made a non-commital noise while Kíli groaned. Dwalin laughed at their reactions. “No need to worry, lads. I’m only joking. Although for yeh Fíli, yer uncle will probably start marriage liaison negotiations soon.”

“You can’t be serious!” cried Fíli in disbelief.

“Afraid I am,” said Dwalin almost apologetically. “He mentioned it to me right before Christmas but I reckon Kíli’s accident drove this matter temporarily out of his mind. He will come back to it soon enough though.”

All colour had drained from Fíli’s face. Looking pleadingly at Dwalin, Fíli said in a low voice, “Can you please talk to uncle? I’m not going to marry whoever he picks for me.”

Dwalin sighed, “Look, laddie. I know how yeh feel but yeh know what yer uncle’s like. He believes it’s yer duty to marry a fine Dwarf lass and produce an heir.”

“He didn’t do his duty back then,” Fíli raised his voice angrily. “He chose me as his heir because he’s unmarried and thus has no children. Why doesn’t he produce his own heir then? I don’t care. You know I don’t.”

“Fíli!” Dwalin looked scandalised. “That’s not fair. Yer uncle has dedicated his whole life to fighting the Dark side and rebuilding our home in Erebor. He deserves…”

“But that’s not why he’s unmarried though, is it?” retorted Fíli defiantly. “He fell in love with someone who did not love him back. That’s why he refused all the advances and propositions. Didn’t think too much of his duty and responsibilities as Thrór’s heir when he was besotted, did he? So how can he ask the same of me? The only difference between us is that he managed to get away with it because grandpa had gone mad and couldn’t be bothered with his…”

“That’s enough!” barked Dwalin as he slammed his fist down the table so forcefully that the butterbeer they were drinking splashed out onto the table. Kíli had never seen Dwalin so livid before. It was only then that he remembered Dwalin’s reputation as a fierce warrior. “Fíli Arken, yeh should be ashamed of yerself! How can yeh insinuate such lies about yer uncle? Yeh of all people should know why Thorin is unmarried. It is true that his heart belonged to someone who could not return his feelings but Thorin was prepared to join in matrimony with a Dwarf lass so he could form an alliance with her father to help win the war. Her untimely demise had prevented that but Thorin was not averse to the idea of sacrificing his own happiness for his people. The only reason why he had decided not to produce an heir of his own was because of yeh! Yer father had just died in the war, which had devastated yer mother. Both of yer parents were destitute at that point too because the little money yer father’s family had was lost in the war. Thorin made yeh his heir in order to take yeh and yer mother in and to alleviate some of her pain. How can yeh speak ill of him when everything he has done has been done for yeh and yer family?”

Fíli finally looked down. At least he had the decency to look abashed. “Sorry,” muttered Fíli, his face crimson red, “I just… I shouldn’t have said that. I reckon I just got carried away with my feelings.”

Dwalin rubbed his temple and sighed, “I understand how yeh feel, laddie. Believe me, I’ve been there. But yeh cannot say such things about yer uncle. I know he may look like a pig-headed bull with a heart of stone sometimes but yeh know how much he cares about people close to him. Yeh and yer mother are the most precious things to him in this world. Hearing yeh say this would break his heart.”

“I…” Fíli looked positively torn and Kíli could not help but feel sorry for him. Despite his grudge that Fíli had kept his feelings for another a secret from him, Kíli knew too well what unrequited love felt like. How could someone not love Fíli though? He was handsome, extremely bright, kind, a great Quidditch player, not to mention insanely rich with his future destined for great things.

“Maybe you needn’t despair,” said Kíli encouragingly. “I’m sure the girl you’re in love with will come around. How can anyone resist you, Fíli?”

The look he had received was most peculiar, Kíli thought. Fíli looked half desperate half pained while Dwalin gave Fíli a sympathetic look before saying, “Even though yer heart has led yeh to someone unfit for fulfilling yer duties, I’m sure Thorin will eventually relent if yer feeling is returned. He cares about yeh too much to deny yeh yer One, whoever that might be. But if yer love cannot be returned, at least consider the possibility of a political marriage that may satisfy yer uncle’s wish.”

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After Valentine’s Day quickly came the second round of Quidditch matches. Ravenclaw was playing Slytherin first, which generated quite the excitement within the castle. For the Ravenclaws, this was the first time in years where they went into the match not being the clear favourite.

“If Slytherin can hold their ground against Ravenclaw, our chance at winning the Quidditch Cup is much stronger,” said Oliver during his usual prep talk before practice.

“Slytherin doesn’t stand a chance,” said Aragorn dismissively. “With Bolg banned for the rest of the school year, Slytherin has no decent Beater. They are going to get slaughtered by Ravenclaw.”

“It serves Bolg right,” spat Tauriel angrily. “He’s a disgusting cheat who’ll stop at nothing to get what he wants. He should be banned for life if you ask me.”

Oliver looked as if he very much liked to argue the point but a fierce look from Tauriel shut him up effectively. Next to them, the twins sniggered. Even Oliver in his Quidditch mania, it seemed, would not dare to cross Tauriel. Kíli for one was extremely glad that Bolg was banned. Even though this might cost them their Quidditch Cup, Kíli’s foremost concern would always be Fíli’s safety. He simply could not imagine what Bolg would do if he was allowed to play against Fíli because no matter what the others and the evidence might say, Kíli still firmly believed that Bolg was responsible for all the attempts on his and Fíli’s lives.

Compared to the Ravenclaw vs Slytherin match, Gryffindor against Hufflepuff was much less talked about, mostly due to the amicable relationships between the two houses. Herbology was still a pleasant class to go to where they could watch Professor Bilbo be his lovely self and talk nonstop about magical plants.

“Some of the magical plants can only be found in the wild,” said Professor Bilbo. With a wave of the wand, projections of various curious plants appeared in front of the class. “The Forbidden Forest, in addition to being the home of many magical creatures, also hosts a variety of horticultural wonders not found anywhere else in England or even the world. I have been waiting to make several trips into the Forest to collect some rare species once the ground is no longer frozen.”

“Not sure if that’s advisable,” Kíli muttered to Fíli with a grin. “The monsters inside could have devoured little Professor Bilbo.”

“Professor Bilbo is a lot stronger than you think,” said Bain, who had overheard the conversation. “He’s been inside the Forest plenty of times by himself. Rumour has it that the ghoul in the Forest was his protector.”

“The Ghoul in the Forest?” asked Kíli curiously. “I’ve never heard of a ghoul in the Forest.”

Fíli laughed. “It’s just a rumour. Some say that there’s a ghoul who wanders in the Forest. The evil twins swear that they have come face to face with the ghoul when they sneaked into the Forest. I’m not sure if I’d believe them though. Ghouls aren’t known to inhabit forests. They probably just saw some kind of strange animal and thought it was a ghoul. They could also be drunk though because apparently, the ghoul disappeared right in front of their eyes when it saw them.”

Kíli sniggered, which unfortunately drew the attention of Bilbo, who gave them a mildly reproachful look. “Now, now, boys,” said Bilbo, “A little less talking and a little more work please.”

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When the day of the Ravenclaw vs Slytherin match finally came, Kíli was even more anxious than Fíli. Even though Bolg was banned from playing, he was still allowed to watch the match in the Slytherin stand. Normally Kíli would not have been too concerned since they had not learnt any spells powerful enough to do any sort of damage from such a distance and Bolg was by no means a star student. Nevertheless, recent events had forced Kíli to re-evaluate Bolg’s magical prowess. Perhaps Bolg possessed knowledge of the Dark Arts that none of them knew about. In any case, Kíli was resolved to keep an eye on Bolg during the entire match just in case.

His concerns, as it turned out, was not warranted. Bolg did show up for the match but he did nothing out of the ordinary. Whenever he caught Kíli’s eyes, however, Bolg would make the point to smirk at him, infuriating Kíli to no end. Yet he did not attempt any curses at Fíli and the match went as smoothly as it could be. Without Bolg, the Slytherins seemed much more reluctant to commit fouls, much to the relief of the Ravenclaws and Professor Bard. They did try their best but even their best effort could hardly match the superior skills of the Ravenclaw team. Legolas was the only Chaser who managed to score but his effort alone was far from enough. Ravenclaw was soon leading by more than 100 points. Next to Kíli, Gimli cursed angrily. “I thought the Slytherins could at least put up a fight. At this rate, they’ll be slaughtered and our advantage over Ravenclaw will be nothing.”

“Legolas and Feren are trying,” said Kíli fairly. “They just don’t have the support of their teammates.”

“They’re simply not at the level of Legolas and Feren,” said Tauriel, who was sitting on the other side of Kíli and watching the match with equal fervour. “You’ve got to feel for them sometimes. It’s hard carrying a team on your own.”

“Their teammates are a total disgrace,” spat Gimli. “Absolutely rubbish if you ask me. It’s not just their lack of skills but also their attitude. I mean, use your Bat and hit a couple of Bludgers for Merlin’s sake. Don’t get me wrong,” he added hastily at the scandalised look on Kíli’s face, “I’m not saying I want Fíli or anyone to get hurt. But this is Quidditch for Mahal’s sake, not some kind of stupid sing-along! It’s a Beater’s job to hit the Bludger at their opponents. Fíli’s doing his job just fine. The Slytherin Beaters are not.”

‘Well, their only hope is for Feren to catch the Snitch,” shrugged Kíli. “Otherwise this is going to be a bloodbath.”

Judging by the look on Gimli’s face, he was quite doubtful. It, therefore, came as a surprise to almost everyone when Feren spotted the Snitch first. Diving at top speed, Feren was a good 20 metres ahead of Cho, who was trying her best to catch on.

“Come on, Feren!” cried Tauriel as she jumped up and down to cheer for the Slytherin Seeker and Captain. As a fellow Seeker, Kíli knew Feren had the Snitch in a bag. His flying was light and graceful as if he was not riding a broomstick but flying freely in the air. His dark brown hair billowing behind him, Feren had the look of utmost concentration. The only thing that could stop him was a…

The Bludger from Fíli was so fast and powerful that it came almost out of nowhere. Soaring towards Feren with great speed and force, it was only a matter of time before it hit its target and knocked him off the broom. The Ravenclaw stand was ready to stand up and celebrate until…

Wham!

The unmistakable sound of metal breaking bones was somehow audible throughout the entire stadium. A split second later, everyone could see a golden and green figure falling through the sky. Legolas had dived in front of the Bludger to spare Feren, who did not even look around to see the commotion. He had eyes only for the Snitch. Unfortunately for Legolas, the Bludger was too powerful and too close to be deflected. It hit him with full force, knocking him straight off his broom. Gasps and cries reverberated inside the stadium. Even Tauriel stood up and looked anxious enough to grab her broom and go rescue Legolas if she could. The only one undisturbed was Feren.

“And Feren of Slytherin has caught the Snitch,” Lee’s loud voice could be heard even over the din. “Ravenclaw won the match with 210 to 180.”

“Blimey,” cried Gimli, his mouth hanging open from total shock. “Who would have thought? Ravenclaw won by only 30 points?”

“Is Legolas alright?” said Tauriel in clear distress. Perhaps the relationship between Legolas and Tauriel was not as distant as Tauriel made it out to be, mused Kíli.

“Professor Thorin managed to cast an ‘Arresto Momentum’ spell,” said Aragorn, who had joined their discussion. “Luckily for Legolas, he fell from high enough for the spell to work, which allowed Professor Bard to catch him. You,” he nodded to Kíli, “were less fortunate last time.”

“I have to say,” said Gimli, shaking his head, half disbelieving, half impressed, “His Highness has got some balls to do something like this. I didn’t realise he’s got it in him.”

“Legolas is not his father,” said Tauriel with a sigh. “He might be extremely pompous but I know that deep down he’s got a good heart underneath it all.”

“He’s hiding it really well then,” snorted Gimli and Kíli had to agree. As much as he admired Legolas’s courage in this particular instance because it did take incredible courage to pull off something like this, he did not think it wise to forget everything Legolas had done or stood for.

“He was brought up by Thranduil!” said Tauriel almost exasperatedly. “Of course, he’s going to think that everyone is beneath him. But he is slowly changing after he has started school and left his father’s influence. Has he insulted you this year?”

“Well, not really…”

“That’s because he’s gradually getting to know you and people like you. Deep down, Legolas is not a bad person. His actions might be guided by his pride but he knows fundamentally what is right and what is wrong. Trust me, I know because I grew up with him. Of course, he’ll never admit it,” snorted Tauriel. “He’s still Thranduil’s son and proud as hell. But he won’t continue his father’s erroneous ways.”

“If only Bolg could be like that,” sighed Kíli. “We’d have no trouble whatsoever.”

“Well,” shrugged Tauriel, “as I said, Legolas is a good person.”

\------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

After the excitement of the Ravenclaw against Slytherin match, Gryffindor playing Hufflepuff was almost routine. Nobody expected Hufflepuff to win and the match had turned out just like that. Kíli managed to catch the Snitch after only 10 minutes, which was probably a Hogwarts record. The only one not entirely happy about this was Oliver Wood.

“You should let us play more,” chided Oliver when they were back in the Gryffindor Common Room, celebrating as if they had already won the Quidditch Cup. “We could have won by more points that way. I know we’re ahead of Ravenclaw but we still haven’t played them yet. Every point counts.”

“Leave him alone,” said Elladan, who happened to walk past with two mugs of butterbeer in hand. “It’s his job to catch a Snitch and Kíli did just that. If he had actually dawdled, he might have missed the Snitch and cost us the match.” 

When Oliver showed every sign of protest, Elladan swiftly sealed Oliver’s mouth by pouring the butterbeer down his throat. Kíli sniggered. In reality, he could have delayed the catching of the Snitch a bit longer. Yet the unwelcome presence of Cedric Diggory in the Hufflepuff stand might or might not have intensified his desire to end the match as early and as convincingly as possible. If anything, the disbelieving and angry look on Cedric’s usually handsome face certainly made up for it. The look of approval from Tauriel did not hurt either. Speaking of Tauriel…

“Has anyone seen Tauriel?” asked Kíli, to the Gryffindor Common Room at large. Most of the people paid him no notice as everyone was too busy celebrating their victory. Elrohir, however, leaned in conspiratorially. “Last I saw her, she was having a heated discussion with Cedric. It seems like her beau did not take too kindly to Hufflepuff’s rather humiliating loss.”

Kíli felt his heart swell. This was more than what he had bargained for. Was it possible that Cedric and Tauriel would break up over this? Maybe his prospect did not look so bleak after all.

“I won’t get your hopes up too high though,” said Elrohir with a smirk. He was more adept at reading people than Kíli gave him credit to.

“What do you mean?” said Kíli in what he hoped was a casual tone. Yet he could feel his face heating up, which was probably a big giveaway.

Elrohir sniggered but Elladan was kind enough to explain, “Tauriel’s a real fighter. She won’t give it up for something as trivial and stupid as this.”

That was rich, coming from the twins, Kíli thought. “I thought Quidditch means the world to you. Surely this is something important.”

Elladan laughed. “I know we may seem like some Quidditch fanatics with no brain whatsoever but we always know our priorities. Quidditch may be more important to us than a lot of other things like homework and such, but it’s nothing compared to one’s friends and love. People always matter more than sports.”

As it turned out, the twins were quite right. When Tauriel turned up for breakfast the next morning, she looked exhausted, but not heartbroken. The only sign that something was up was the fact that Tauriel was sitting at the Ravenclaw table and deep in conversation with Arwen.

“Rumour has it,” said Lindir, who had slipped to the seat next to Kíli so quietly that Kíli did not even notice him, “Tauriel and Cedric had a heated argument yesterday that soon turned into an even more heated make-out session. Sorry, mate.” When he saw the astonished look on Kíli’s face, Lindir laughed, “Come on, little Kíli. Anyone with eyes can read your mind wherever Tauriel is concerned. It’s written all over your face.”

“It’s true,” said Elrohir from across the table. “Your eyes lit up and you’ve got this puppy dog look on your face whenever Tauriel so much as enters the room. If you’ve got a tail, I’m sure you’d be wagging it.”

Burying his face inside his palms amongst the laughter of those around him, Kíli wished the ground would open up and swallow him whole. Then an even more frightening possibility occurred to him. “Does Tauriel…”

“No,” said Aragorn kindly. He was sitting at the Gryffindor table, presumably to give Tauriel and Arwen some space for their little chat. “I don’t think she does. Tauriel can be extremely oblivious when it comes to matters of the heart. Everybody could tell Cedric fancied her last year but she had no clue. In the end, he had to spell it out for her, which practically sent her running to Arwen for help. So no, I don’t think she knows how you feel about her.”

“Well,” muttered Kíli, “at least there’s that.”

“Give it time,” said Aragorn sagely. “You cannot force feelings. It develops with time, just as it can fade because of time and distance. Just be patient and pray that you’re right for each other.”


	10. Chapter 10

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kíli was delighted to find that his unrequited crush on Tauriel might not be so hopeless after all. His relationship with Thorin, however, was becoming more complicated.

Signs of spring had finally begun to show itself in Hogwarts ground at the end of March after a long winter. The bitter coldness had eventually given away to more agreeable weather while the daylight hours lengthened. With the improving weather, the spirit in the castle was high and everyone was eager to get out of the castle into the ground. Care of Magical Creatures lessons had thus become more popular, at least when Dáin was not showing them insanely dangerous creatures.

“Hello Buckbeak,” smiled Kíli when he approached the Hippogriff that he met the year before. They had resumed their lessons on the magnificent creature because Dáin was concerned, not about the students like any sane professor would be, but that his precious babies would not like the cold winter. For Kíli, the magic of the Hippogriff felt even stronger now, which filled him with relief. He had not been able to practice his Sense this whole year due to his hectic schedule and other priorities. It was, therefore, reassuring to know that it had developed with his magic despite his neglect.

“I’ve missed this,” sighed Gimli on their way back to the castle, “back to the open with real magical creatures I mean. One can only take so much flobberworm caring.”

Kíli laughed. The winter conditions, coupled with direct instruction from Professor Gandalf and the head of the Houses not to endanger the students, limited the curriculum for the third years who were just beginning to learn about magical creatures. They were thus reduced to learning some of the most boring creatures out there, including flobberworms who did nothing but crawl slowly and eat lettuce and cabbages.

“Professor Dáin reckoned that now that the ground is thawing and the weather is warming up, he can go and do some real work inside the Forest,” said Gimli with such excitement that he was practically bouncing on his toes. “He has promised me to take me with him when he does go next time.”

“Speaking of Professor Dáin,” Fíli looked pensive, “has he found out what happened to the missing Niffler yet?”

The smile on Gimli’s face faded. Shaking his head, he said with a sigh, “No. Professor Dáin was going mad because he could not see a trace of the thing. It honestly doesn’t make sense. It’s as if the Niffler has vanished from the castle into the thin air.”

Exchanging a quick look with Fíli, Kíli knew that they were thinking the same thing: what if someone, Bolg being a likely candidate, was sneaking the Niffler out of the castle using one of the secret passageways.

Once they were alone, Fíli asked the question first. “So, have you found anything unusual on that,” he grimaced, “special map of yours?” Judging by his tone and the look on his face, Kíli deduced that Fíli’s rule-abiding nature did not entirely agree with the Marauder’s map.

“Nothing,” said Kíli, feeling frustrated. He had been monitoring the map ever since he had got it yet could spot nothing out of the ordinary. His original focus was naturally on Bolg. After two weeks of watching Bolg go about his business like everybody else, however, Kíli was forced to expand his search. With the help of the twins and Lindir, Kíli had managed to learn the names of almost everyone in the castle. Yet none of the little dots on the map belonged to any outsiders. Admittedly, the sheer number of people, along with the presence of ghosts, House Elves, and pets, had made Kíli’s search quite difficult and perhaps he had missed something. Yet somehow Kíli knew the truth was more complicated than that.

“I’m sure the truth will be out,” said Fíli encouragingly. “Now, why don’t we get started on our Potions essay? I think our Confusing Concoction didn’t thicken that well, wouldn’t you say? Maybe we can find some tips in one of the library books.”

Nodding reluctantly, Kíli trudged slowly behind Fíli. If it were up to him, he would have gone back to his dormitory to spend some more time staring at the Marauder’s Map. He knew that Fíli was right, however. They did have a lot of homework to do and the last thing Kíli wanted at this point was to risk begetting Thorin’s displeasure. Even though Thorin was no longer treating Kíli with the coldness that he had to endure in the months before Christmas, Kíli could tell that they were still not as close as they were before this strange connection between them occurred. He was, therefore, treading cautiously when Thorin was concerned.

The Potions essay took them a surprisingly short time to finish, mostly thanks to Fíli’s superior Potions knowledge. On their way back from the library, Fíli was unfortunately waylaid by Justin Finch-Fletchley to go over something in their Quenya translation homework, leaving Kíli free to wander leisurely back to Gryffindor Common Room. As he was climbing the stairs to the Gryffindor Tower, Kíli looked out of the window and saw Bilbo hurrying back from the Forbidden Forest. This in itself would not pique Kíli’s interest, for he knew that Bilbo must be on one of his research trips to the Forest. What did make him look twice was the little figure trailing stealthily behind Bilbo. It looked too short to be even a Dwarf and too skinny to be a Hobbit. Fishing the Marauder’s map from his pocket, Kíli hastily said, “I solemnly swear that I am up to no good.”

The tiny ink dot that showed up on the parchment only served to puzzled Kíli further. Unlike the names of others where both first name and surname were displayed in minuscule writing, this one simply displayed the letter G. Leaning closer towards the map to better see it, Kíli was flabbergasted when he saw the letter G disappear from the map. How was that possible? What was even more astounding was that this little creature had not only disappeared from the map, which Kíli could attribute to the defect in the map’s magic, but also was nowhere to be seen on the ground. What kind of magic was that? Surely this could not be some trick of his eyes.

“Everything alright?” Tauriel’s voice jolted Kíli out of his thoughts.

“Er,” Kíli did not know what to say. Would Tauriel think he had gone mad? “I think I just saw someone disappear from both the map and the ground.”

Tauriel laughed. Clearly, this was not something she thought possible. “It can’t be. It’s impossible for someone to just disappear from Hogwarts. We’d be in a lot of trouble otherwise.”

“I swear I just saw it,” said Kíli earnestly. The imploring tone seemed to sober Tauriel up. Snatching the map from Kíli, she examined it carefully. “I don’t see anything out of the ordinary. Are you sure…”

“Yes, I’m sure!” Kíli could hardly blame Tauriel since he could not quite believe his eyes himself but he needed to convince her. “I saw he, she, it, whatever, following Professor Bilbo out of the Forest so I thought I’d just check the map because I don’t remember seeing something like that before. It’s about the same height as a hobbit but it was practically emaciated. Anyway, when I checked the map, it only showed a letter G next to its dot. Then it just disappeared from the map, right in front of me. When I looked up, I couldn’t see it on the ground either.”

“But that’s impossible,” said Tauriel, her eyes wide. “Nobody can Apparate in and out of Hogwarts.”

“Maybe someone has found a way to beat this restriction,” said Kíli. Surely some powerful wizard could achieve such a feat.

“No, you don’t understand,” said Tauriel. “This isn’t some everyday magic put on the castle by a Minister employee. This is ancient magic placed by the Founders of Hogwarts. Nobody has managed to break it, not even the Headmaster or the Dark Lord. That’s how they had managed to stop the dark forces from infiltrating Hogwarts during the Last Wizarding War. It just… it just can’t be.”

It did seem quite unlikely that some strange creature could better great wizards such as Professor Gandalf and the Dark Lord. Yet Kíli was sure he did not imagine it.

“Maybe it’s not a wizard,” suggested Tauriel. “You said that it looks nothing like a wizard. The map’s not supposed to show magical creatures that belong to nobody. Pets are only shown because of the magical bonds between them and the owners. So the map could be faulty when it comes to magical creatures. It must have run back into the forest when you were checking the map.”

Even though Kíli was not fully convinced by the theory, he had to admit that it did make some sense. Given that there was no other explanation, he was forced to accept this one for now. 

“Don’t dwell on it,” said Tauriel with a bright smile. “There’s so much we don’t know about magic that you’ll drive yourself insane if you try to figure everything out. Come on, there are better ways to occupy your time. Why don’t we go outside and play some Wizarding Chess? It’s a nice day after all.”

Overjoyed by the invitation, Kíli had to contain himself not to jump up and down with glee. All thoughts about the strange creature in the forest forgotten, he followed Tauriel closely out of the castle to a large tree next to the Lake. Even though the weather was still a bit chilly, Kíli felt his whole body warm up as his heart was thumping so hard that he was sure Tauriel could hear it.

Even though Kíli knew he was no expert in Wizarding Chess, he was frankly appalling that afternoon, mostly because he was too distracted by Tauriel’s beauty, or so he told himself. His chess pieces soon started screaming at him for all the stupid tactical moves he had made, some even tried to commit suicide to avoid being sent only to be pummeled by the enemies, something that greatly amused Tauriel. Well, at least it was not Gobstones, thought Kíli wryly. Otherwise, he was sure he would be covered in foul-smelling liquid.

“This is so nice,” sighed Tauriel contently after her 5th consecutive victory. “It’s great to take your mind off things, wouldn’t you say?”

“Is something bothering you?” asked Kíli because he could not help but notice that in the past few weeks, Tauriel’s, well, he failed to find a better word for it, aura had dimmed a bit.

“Nothing serious,” shrugged Tauriel in a brave attempt of indifference. “Something stupid really. I mean, I shouldn’t even ca…”

“Is it about Cedric?” Kíli blurted out before he could stop himself. Tauriel sat up straighter, her eyes sharp when she stared at Kíli, who was mentally kicking himself for his lack of tact. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to pry. I just…”

Her shoulders relaxing, Tauriel sighed. “It’s fine, Kíli. I reckon everybody must have guessed. Well, yeah, sort of.”

Kíli had to bite his tongue not to say anything. There were a million things he would love to say to Tauriel, something along the lines of ‘he doesn’t deserve you’. But he waited patiently, knowing that Tauriel needed time.

“Our relationship has been kind of rocky since after Christmas.” Tauriel looked down as she played absent-mindedly with her bishop, who thrashed valiantly before giving up the fight. “It’s the distance. He’s out there, playing professional Quidditch and I’m here, stuck at school. We only get to see each other a handful of times each term! He can’t make it to half of the Hogsmeade weekends because of his match schedule. It’s just…” Tauriel choked and touched her face quickly. Even though Kíli could not see her face, he knew she must be upset. He had never resented someone so much, well maybe except Bolg and those Death Eaters. At this moment, however, he despised Cedric for breaking Tauriel’s heart. “Then there are always girls throwing themselves at him wherever he goes. You know, Quidditch star and all that. He doesn’t like the separation either but what can we do? I’m not going to graduate for another two years! This is just too hard.”

Frankly, Kíli thought Cedric was an idiot. If he was with someone as wonderful as Tauriel, he would make absolutely sure that something as trivial as distance would never stand in the way of their relationship. How could one give something so precious up for something so stupid? Even though he knew that it was probably morally reprehensible, Kíli felt difficult not to feel delighted because not only was he closer to being with Tauriel but he was superior to Cedric too. Despite his good looks and popularity, Cedric was nothing but weak-willed.

“Maybe he’s not the right one for you then,” said Kíli boldly. “I mean, if he really cares about you, surely he can wait for a couple of years.”

Tauriel looked up, her eyes suspiciously wet. “You think so?”

“Of course!” Kíli scooted closer to Tauriel, his voice filled with badly-concealed excitement. “You deserve the best, someone who loves you more than anything else in the world. If Cedric cannot overcome something as trivial as a little distance, he’s not worthy of you.”

“I…” Tauriel looked half convinced. “But I do love him and I’m sure he loves me.”

“Not enough then,” said Kíli decisively. “When you think of him, do you feel the urge to sacrifice everything in this world to be with him? Because that’s how you’re supposed to feel when you find the right one. Nothing else matters. If he feels this way about you, do you think he’d mind waiting a mere two years for you?”

“Maybe you’re right,” said Tauriel slowly. “It’s really not that long, is it? I don’t mind waiting if I were him. So it really shouldn’t be an issue, should it?”

“Absolutely not!” Kíli slammed his fist on the chessboard, sending his poor chess pieces flying into the air, screaming. “You should talk to him and let him know how wrong he has been. If he can’t change, well…”

“You know what,” said Tauriel with a determined look in her eyes, “I will. I’ve been blaming myself the whole time, thinking that it’s my fault because I’m in school. But it’s not, is it? I can’t help the fact that I’m younger than him. So why should I punish myself when I’ve done nothing wrong?” She turned to Kíli with a grateful smile on her face. “Thank you so much, Kíli. I feel so much better now. You’re a true friend who really understands me!”

If he had been on his own, Kíli could have jumped up and punched the air with glee. Composing himself, he gave Tauriel an encouraging smile. “I’m just glad I can help. You know you can always talk to me about anything. I’d do anything, anything to make you feel better.”

The beaming smile on Tauriel’s face made her look positively radiant. But even that could not compare to the hug she gave Kíli. Breathing in deeply the fragrant smell of Tauriel that reminded Kíli of freshly-mown grass, flowers in the spring, and beautiful forest, Kíli thought he was in heaven. It was almost impossible to let go of her. Yet somehow he had managed to contain himself. He must not be overjoyed, Kíli reminded himself. Tauriel was still with Cedric. His work was not done yet.

\------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The joyful mood of the progress of his potential relationship with Tauriel lifted Kíli’s spirit throughout the weekend. It was so obvious that Fíli even asked him what brought about this new spell of happiness.

“Oh, nothing,” said Kíli with pretended indifference, “just in a good mood is all. Good weather and spring coming, you know.”

Fíli did not look at all convinced but thankfully dropped the matter, possibly due to the mountainous homework they were facing, Kíli thought with a grin. His good mood lasted a good two weeks until Potions class that Tuesday.

The whole class knew something was off the moment Thorin strode into the classroom, his dark long hair and navy blue robe billowing behind him. This, combined with the deep scowl on his face, created quite a dramatic effect. Arching an eyebrow, Kíli exchanged a surprised look with Fíli. They had not seen Thorin like this for quite a while.

“Antidote,” said Thorin without much of a preamble, “to uncommon poisons requires particular attention to details. You’re to brew the Potions today and I will pick one antidote to test on,” his lips curled into a smirk, “one of your pets.”

“Uncle’s lost his marbles,” said Fíli in disbelief amongst the gasps and murmurs of their fellow students. Kíli had to agree. What if the antidote did not work? Next to him, Keeper kept its wings close to its sides, trying to make itself as small as possible.

“Do you know if something’s wrong?” asked Gimli in a whisper. Thorin did not usually take his temper out on students unless it was something serious.

“Not that I know of,” said Fíli, still frowning. “I’ll need to check with him after class. I just hope he’ll come to his senses soon and stop this before the end of the class.”

Perhaps unsurprisingly, the whole class was extremely tense during the whole double period. Kíli read and re-read the instructions on the blackboard at least three times before heading to the cupboard to gather the necessary ingredients. He certainly would not put it past Thorin to pick him. He and Fíli worked in silence, preparing the ingredients and stirring the Potions. In the meantime, Thorin walked around the classroom with the same irate look on his face, critiquing students’ techniques with snide comments. Kíli was sure it was only due to the fact that Fíli was Thorin’s nephew that they were spared this fate. Others were not so lucky and towards the end of the class, some of the girls were on the verge of tears.

“Blimey,” said Gimli shaking his head, “Professor Thorin certainly doesn’t pull his punches, does he?”

“This is ridiculous,” hissed Fíli. “What in the name of Mahal is going on with uncle?”

“Must be something serious,” said Kíli darkly. “In any case, I’m not volunteering Keeper to be the guinea pig. He’s your uncle; you deal with it.”

With only 10 minutes left of the class, Thorin motioned everyone to stop brewing. Walking from table to table, he smirked at the various concoctions the class had come up with. When he approached their table, Kíli held his breath and reached instinctively to Keeper, whose features were all on end. Thorin’s lips curled when he saw that but thankfully did not comment on it. After a long careful inspection of their potion, Thorin finally nodded curtly and moved on without a word. Letting out a sigh of relief, Kíli patted Keeper reassuringly. Their potion seemed to be the only one receiving Thorin’s grudging approval.

“Now,” drawled Thorin with a hint of vindictive pleasure, “the time has come to reveal the potency of your antidote.” He looked around, clearly savouring the anxiety and fear of the class. “Let’s see. Mister Gundabad, why don’t we try it on your warg?”

“Okay, so now we know who has pissed uncle off,” whispered Fíli, all his previous worries gone. If anything, he looked quite delighted to watch how this would unfold. Kíli had to agree with him. Had it been anyone else, he would have felt sorry for them and their pet. Not Bolg and his vicious warg though. Kíli hated the thing with a passion. Why Hogwarts would allow someone to bring something like this, a vicious wolf breed particularly close to Orcs, as a pet was beyond Kíli. Bolg, however, took great pleasure in taking his warg everywhere with him to intimidate other students. Now it was finally time for some justice. Bolg must have done something heinous to make Thorin so vindictive.

It could be Kíli’s imagination but the smirk on Bolg’s face did falter for a moment. Perhaps there was something in this world that Bolg did care about after all. Yet the change was so swift that Kíli almost missed it. When he looked again, Bolg was back to his indifferent jeering self and he did not so much as blink when Thorin pointed his wand at Bolg’s pet warg so it would not run away. 

The content in Bolg’s cauldron could only be described as pathetic. Congealing almost completely, it was a garish shade of orange and reeked off a foul rotten egg smell. Even the little knowledge in Potions that Kíli possessed told him that it was not going to work as an antidote against poison. It was probably more likely to act as a poison. He could, therefore, hardly blame Bolg’s warg when it snarled aggressively at Thorin. Unfortunately, Thorin was not one easily intimidated. Undeterred, he approached the warg with sheer determination in his eyes and the poison firmly in his hand. Seeing that no one would come to its rescue, the warg finally whimpered pathetically but it could not stop Thorin. Forcing the poison down the warg’s throat, Thorin watched it twitch before feeding Bolg’s antidote to the warg. The effect was immediate. The warg stopped twitching. Instead of rising back on its feet, however, it looked more dead than ever.

“This is insane,” said Fíli in a low voice when Thorin continued to observe the possibly even more poisoned warg, “it’s going to di…”

“Please, Professor Thorin,” cried Kíli as he rose from his seat. He could feel the whole class’s eyes on him but he did not care. No matter what consequences his actions might bring, he knew he could not sit back and watch a being, however unpleasant it might be, be killed, and for such a stupid reason. “You need to stop this. It’s going to die if you don’t give it the right antidote!”

Next to him, Fíli was tugging on his sleeves so hard that a piece of fabric ripped off. Yet Kíli paid it no mind. His eyes were only on Thorin, who turned slowly towards Kíli, his eyes cold and the lines on his face hard. “Are you telling me how to conduct my class, Mister Durin?”

“No, sir,” said Kíli with a defiant look. “But I cannot let an innocent life die in this class. Someone needs to do something.”

“Some may argue that the lives of the likes of wargs are hardly innocent,” said Thorin almost lazily. This attitude, more than anything else, incensed Kíli to the point that he could no longer control himself.

“That’s not the point, isn’t it?” cried Kíli indignantly, resolutely ignoring Fíli’s ever more earnest pleading. “No life is more valuable or more condemnable than another. We don’t have the right to take a life, not for a reason like this and not when it can’t even defend itself!”

The look Thorin gave him was long and searching. Kíli was certain this was about more than just this poisoning of the warg but he could not wait. Before he could protest further, however, Thorin raised his hand to stop him. “I am disappointed that you think so little of my teaching and my regard for the safety of those in my classroom. Do you honestly believe I would let a pet die here?”

“I…”

“Since Mister Bolg was incapable of brewing a simple antidote,” said Thorin calmly over Kíli’s stuttering, “I’m forced to administer the antidote myself to save his pet’s life. I hope that this will serve as a valuable lesson to pay attention to your potions, which may have the effect of life and death.” With that, he fed the almost dead warg some potions from his phial. Everyone waited with bated breath until finally, the warg twitched almost imperceptibly before opening its eyes and wailing weakly.

“Your warg will experience weakness for a few days,” said Thorin as he extracted another phial from his pocket. “Feed it this tonic three times a day for at least a week and it shall recover. Now,” he turned to the class and said, “you’re to write an essay on the proper technique of brewing the antidote, to be handed in before the next class. You may leave now.”

As the rest of the class filed out of the dungeon one by one, Kíli hesitated. Even though he thought his action was fully justified, he still felt the need to apologise to Thorin, maybe for not trusting him. So he motioned for Fíli to go ahead while he dawdled behind.

“Can I help you, Mister Durin?” asked Thorin coolly when he saw Kíli’s hesitating figure. Well, Kíli thought, at least he wasn’t angry.

“Sir, I just want to…” Truth be told, Kíli did not know what he wanted to do. He still believed that he did nothing wrong yet somehow he felt the need to explain himself to Thorin. “I guess I should have expressed my opinions in a more polite way.”

Unless Kíli was very much mistaken, he could swear that the corner of Thorin’s mouth twitched. When he spoke, however, there was no humour in his voice. “As much as I appreciate your honesty and courage to admit your wrongdoings, this act alone does not negate the fact that you have acted rashly without so much forethought for the consequences of your actions, something you have demonstrated time and time again. Even though you might still consider yourself young, I must impress upon you the importance of tact and decorum. Dwarves at your age should have mastered the basics of both. Your father, despite his rather undisciplined personality, had at least achieved that, even though he often chose not to employ them.”

To be perfectly honest, Kíli was speechless after this long lecture. Part of him wanted to laugh because of Thorin’s, in his opinion at least, complete overreaction. On the other hand, he knew Thorin was being completely serious so laughing would only make matters worse. He also could not ignore Thorin’s snide comment about his dad, even though he knew Thorin probably was not even being purposefully hurtful. In the end, Kíli just settled for a polite smile and a nod of the head.

Just as he was getting ready to leave, however, Thorin spoke again, “I did admire your courage to speak up about what you believe in, no matter how misguided they might be. It is a quality that we Dwarves value very much. As much as I would like to advise you on your ill-spent time and sympathy towards those less-deserving beings, I must encourage you to keep your passion and courage. With these key qualities and a little tact that you shall soon hopefully acquire, you will make a valuable addition to the Dwarf community.”

This must be Thorin’s way of apologising, Kíli thought wryly. Even though he did not agree with Thorin’s view on the other beings, he thought it was probably inadvisable to argue the point further after Thorin’s lecture on tact. It did, however, embolden him to ask the next question that had returned to his mind. “Why were you so angry, sir? Because, if you don’t mind me saying, you don’t usually go for someone in your House unless something serious has happened.”

The silence that followed almost had Kíli fidgeting on the spot. He wondered if he had finally crossed the line. His relationship with Thorin, after all, was still fraught and awkward. In the end, Thorin did speak. “I guess it can’t hurt to fill you in so you can inform Fíli as well. But this conversation must stay between us, understood?”

“Of course, sir,” nodded Kíli eagerly.

“Very well,” sighed Thorin as he massaged his temples. “My office has been broken into this morning when I was at breakfast. Even though I arrived as quickly as possible, I was unable to catch the infiltrator, nor could I prevent my personal belongings from being taken.”

Kíli gasped. So this was the truth. The infiltrator must have exceptional magical skills to get past Thorin’s ward. “What was taken?”

“Something of great importance and personal value to me,” said Thorin stiffly. “That is all you need to know. Some of them are highly dangerous too. You can, therefore, understand my apprehension and concern.”

Yet Kíli did not understand. He thought the thief would be after the Arkenstone but Thorin made it sound like it was more than that? “Was it the Arken…”

“No,” snapped Thorin, “it was not that.”

“But it was some precious metals?” pressed Kíli, not phased by Thorin’s clear annoyance, “How did they get into your office?”

“I believe,” said Thorin slowly, “the actual infiltrator was the missing Niffler. I have updated my ward to prevent all magical beings from entering since the last Niffler infiltration but somehow it got in again. The only thing I can think of was that someone Apparated into my office and thus bypassed the ward but nobody can Apparate in and out of Hogwarts so… But anyway, yes, the missing items were,” he paused and swallowed, “precious metals.”

This still did not explain everything to Kíli. He knew Thorin well enough to know that the loss of worldly possession, however a serious blow to a Dwarf, would not warrant such a violent reaction from Thorin. Besides, how could precious stones and metals be dangerous? Yet Thorin seemed unwilling to divulge further information so Kíli decided to drop the topic now. “I see. I’ll fill Fíli in on this so he won’t go asking around.”


	11. Chapter 11

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> While Fíli worried about his family history, it was Ori who was in real trouble.

“So basically uncle won’t tell you what was stolen,” said Fíli matter-of-factly during the break they had after Potions. They were, of course, in the library, working hard on Thorin’s essay. Ori was also there because he did not take Muggle Studies like Gimli did but he was thankfully too absorbed in his studies to hear their conversation.

“Yes,” whispered Kíli, “he would only tell me what happened but not what was taken. It must be something important that he wanted to keep a secret. Do you know if there’s anything other than the Arkenstone that…”

“That would make uncle so angry,” Fíli finished Kíli’s sentence for him. “Not that I can think of, to be honest. There are, of course, many valuable items made out of precious stones but…”

“But hardly something to make Professor Thorin lose his composure like this in class,” nodded Kíli. “I can’t imagine how.”

“Well.” Fíli looked hesitant, as if he wanted to say something but had to restrain himself from doing so. Kíli waited patiently. He knew that Fíli would eventually tell him his thoughts. He always did. He just needed some time.

“You must have heard of the condition of my great-grandfather,” said Fíli, taking a deep breath as if steadying himself, “Thrór.”

Kíli had to search his brain for all he knew about Thorin’s grandfather, Thrór. “He was the one who was supposedly,” he searched for the best word, “affected by the Arkenstone, wasn’t he?”

“Yes,” Fíli’s shoulders only relaxed slightly after Kíli’s rare display of tact, “people say he had lost his mind due to the Arkenstone because he was a great leader before then. But my mother,” he swallowed hard, “she grew up with Thrór and she had witnessed it all. Well, it didn’t only start after he came to possess the Arkenstone. The stone made it worse that was for sure but mother told me that there were signs before Thrór even saw the stone. What if this condition is hereditary? What if uncle has it too? What if…”

Now Kíli understood it all. Shaking his head firmly, he grabbed hold of Fíli’s hand and looked at his friend straight in the eye. “You’re not like them, Fíli! You can’t be more different from Professor Thorin in personality and…”

“But what if this has nothing to do with our disposition,” said Fíli earnestly, forgoing all pretence. “What if this is an illness in our blood, something that we can’t fight off?”

“We always have a choice!” Kíli cried. “Our blood doesn’t define who we are, Fíli! Look at me! If I’m to believe that my blood defines me, I’m supposed to believe everything that Bolg says and Legolas used to say about me and throw up my hands. We make our own future. You can control what you become.”

“But what if…”

“Then you would have shown that tendency already,” said Kíli firmly. “But you have never displayed any kind of weird longing or lust for things like gold or jewellery. You value honour, knowledge, kindness, and courage over gold. You won’t magically change later in life simply because of this so-called illness in your blood.”

Letting go of Kíli’s hand, Fíli buried his face in his own. When he looked up, however, Fíli did appear relieved. Breathing deeply, he gave Kíli a small smile as he grabbed Kíli’s hand and squeezed it gratefully. Kíli beamed back. “So, back to your uncle. Do you think he may be affected because of the loss of his prized possessions?”

“I can’t rule it out,” sighed Fíli, scratching his head. “Dwarves value precious stones very much and uncle might be more so than some others, though he tries not to show this. He deems it a weakness of character. But I won’t be surprised if his wounded pride and his anger at the lost possessions made him behave erratically.”

Now this made sense to Kíli. The only thing that was still nagging him at the back of his mind was Thorin’s comment that it was something dangerous. How could gold and precious stones be dangerous? Maybe there was something like the Arkenstone, something with ancient powers that could be dangerous in the hands of the wrong person. “Do you think you can find out more about what those things are from your uncle?”

“I doubt it.” Fíli shook his head. “Uncle doesn’t divulge such information to me. He told us nothing about the Chamber of Secrets last year, remember?”

“What about Professor Dwalin?”

“He won’t if uncle doesn’t want such information to get out. Professor Dwalin’s extremely loyal, particularly to uncle.”

Kíli sighed. He knew Fíli was right of course. Dwalin would never betray Thorin’s trust and he was as tough and stubborn as it gets when it comes to defending Thorin’s secret. So there went their hope of finding out the truth about what was stolen.

“Don’t worry,” said Fíli bracingly. “I’m sure uncle and Professor Dwalin will recover the lost items in no time. Come on, let’s finish our Potions essay. I don’t want uncle to poison any of our pets in the next class.”

\----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

With everything else that was going on, Kíli was surprised to find that April was already upon them. He had been so focused on his studies and Quidditch that he had little time for anything else. The only thing that he did not give up was checking the Marauder’s Map almost compulsively whenever he had the chance. For one thing, he wanted to find out who broke into Thorin’s office and stole from the Potions Master. For another, he wanted to find out how someone could disappear from the map suddenly because no matter what Tauriel had told him, Kíli knew something different was happening. Unfortunately, he was making no progress in either area. No one suspicious had been anywhere near Thorin’s office while the letter G kept appearing and disappearing on the map, usually deep inside the Forbidden Forest.

“This is hopeless,” whined Kíli dramatically in the library one day. He was supposed to be working on his Khuzdûl translation homework but he simply could not be bothered. It was a bright sunny day outside and he was itching to get outside.

Next to him, Fíli rolled his eyes and gave Kíli a reproachful look. He was, of course, working on his homework just like the good student that he was. “You’re supposed to be working on your Khuzdûl homework, not staring at a map for nothing.”

“I can’t concentrate with all these unsolved mysteries going on,” sighed Kíli. “Don’t you want to know what happened in Professor Thorin’s office?”

“Of course, I do,” said Fíli, his eyes still fixed on his Transfiguration essay. “But I can’t get more information out of uncle and we’re not any closer to finding the real intruder than two weeks before. So I’m going to concentrate on something I can control, such as…”

“Your bloody homework, of course,” muttered Kíli.

“Look,” Fíli was finally fed-up with Kíli’s whining, “if you’re so desperate to know the truth, why don’t you use your ingenuity? The map won’t tell you everything. Didn’t you ask that little House Elf to spy for you? Maybe he has seen something.”

Kíli was so excited that he literally jumped up from his seat. “This is a great idea! I’ve totally forgotten! But,” he turned to Fíli for he just realised that he had never summoned a House Elf before. He had only run into them accidentally. How was he supposed to find a House Elf in such a large castle? “Where do I find him?”

“You just call his name,” said Fíli, his eyes back to the homework now that Kíli seemed to have solved his problem. “He will answer to that because he’s a Hogwarts House Elf and must answer to the summons of all staff and students if they specifically ask for him.”

“Really?” This felt strangely wrong to Kíli as if he was summoning an object, not a living being. It must be another part of this twisted magical enslavement of the House Elves. Still, Kíli had no other choice so he tried tentatively. “Bloody?”

It took a good 5 minutes before Bloody walked through the library door to their desk. Filled with excitement, Kíli could hardly contain himself as he waved Bloody over.

“Mister call Bloody?” said Bloody in his usual squeaky voice.

“Yes,” said Kíli with a big grin on his face. “Now, I need to ask you something. Remember I asked you to keep an eye out for any suspicious behaviour?”

Bloody nodded his head slowly but said nothing. Kíli pressed on, “Well, did you see anything unusual when Professor Thorin’s office was broken into?”

“No, mister,” Bloody wrung his hands while shaking his head vehemently. “Bloody are close to Professor Thorin’s office and he see nothing.”

“Are you sure?” Kíli could not help but feel a pang of disappointment. He thought Bloody would have spotted at least something. “Nothing at all?”

Bloody shook his head again so Kíli tried something else. “Have you noticed any suspicious behaviour of Bolg recently?”

“No!” This time, Bloody’s high-pitched squeal even made Fíli, so absorbed in his homework before, look up. “Master Bolg are not being suspicious. Master Bolg are being a good student.”

“Right,” Kíli exchanged a quick look with Fíli before turning to Bloody. “Thank you, Bloody. You’ve been very helpful and have done well.”

Once Bloody had left the library, Kíli turned to Fíli. “Can we trust his words? What if he lied to us?”

“House Elves are magically bound to obey their masters, which includes telling them the truth at all times,” said Fíli. “For Hogwarts ones, this means all the students and staff. Bloody can’t lie to you.”

This was another blow. Maybe Bolg was indeed not involved. “We just seem to run into dead ends after dead ends,” sighed Kíli, ready to give up. “Maybe I just can’t figure it out this time.”

Fíli gave him a sympathetic look. “It’s hard to find out what was going on without anything to go on. Has your Sense picked up anything recently?”

This gave Kíli pause. Now that he came to think of it, he had not Sensed anything at all. Perhaps that was why he was feeling complacent. Nothing felt wrong. Was he overreacting? Maybe the Niffler was sent in by some students either as a prank, which Kíli felt somewhat justified if Thorin’s behaviour at their class was replicated elsewhere, or because they wanted to steal some precious stones for some extra cash. After all, if anyone was after money, Thorin’s office was a good place to start, being the leader of Dwarves and thus the de-facto owner of the largest mine in the wizarding world.

“Don’t beat yourself up about it,” said Fíli. “You’ve done everything you could. Now, why don’t we start on our Charms essay?”

\---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The next Hogsmeade weekend came during the last week of April. Fíli was reluctant to go because Quidditch practices for the upcoming match against Gryffindor, the one that would almost certainly decide the winner of the Quidditch Cup, had consumed most of his time that he insisted that he was behind on his homework. The weather, however, was so pleasant and obliging that eventually, Fíli relented.

“Just some shopping and lunch,” insisted Fíli. “Then we’ll head back in the afternoon so I can…”

“Do your homework,” finished Kíli with a roll of his eyes. “We know! Honestly, Fíli, you’re even more of a bookworm than Ori!”

“Hey!” cried Ori indignantly while the rest of them laughed. “Come on, let’s go.”

They had a good time in Honeydukes and Zonko’s, replenishing their sweets and joke products stocks. Even Fíli was able to forget about his homework to enjoy himself. Laughing heartily, they walked into the Three Broomsticks right before the busy lunchtime, securing themselves a table in the corner almost immediately.

“I’ll go and get some butterbeer,” volunteered Fíli to the general applause of the table. Once he was gone, Kíli scanned the room but spotted no one that they knew. It seemed that the time was still early for the ravenous students of Hogwarts.

“Ouch!” cried Kíli when he felt something on his leg. Kicking instinctively, his leg caught Gimli’s, which prompted another cry from his friend.

“Bloody hell! What was that for?!” cried Gimli. “Why did you kick me?”

“Something got my leg,” hissed Kíli in pain, “and it won’t get off.”

“No need for you to take it out on me though,” snapped Gimli as he massaged his kicked leg but Kíli’s attention was otherwise occupied. Looking down, Kíli was surprised to see Mister Lock latched on his leg. “Oi, get off me, you stupid cat!”

“What in the name of Mahal is going on?” asked Ori but Kíli had more pressing matters at hand. The arrival of Fíli with four jugs of butterbeer only added to the chaos. Practically jumping out of his seat, Kíli nearly knocked Fíli over, along with the jug in front of him. Fortunately, Ori was fast enough to catch it.

“Watch out!” cried Fíli amidst the chaos. “There are drinks on the table.” 

“Sorry, sorry! That bloody cat,” said Kíli angrily but the cat was nowhere to be seen. It must have slipped out when nobody was looking. “Anyway, I’m glad the beer’s okay. Why don’t we get some food?”

“We’ll go then,” said Gimli, who seemed eager to get away from Kíli and his flailing limbs. With that, he practically dragged Ori out of the seat.

“You alright?” asked Fíli as he finally settled next to Kíli. “Want some butterbeer to calm your nerves?”

“That bloody cat!” snarled Kíli but thankfully he had got his butterbeer for company. “Why is he in Hogsmeade? Shouldn’t he be back in Hogwarts with his slimy master?”

“Maybe Alfrid’s here too,” shrugged Fíli. “At least it’s gone now. It seriously hates you, that cat.”

The return of Gimli and Ori with hot mouth-watering food had lifted Kíli’s mood significantly. “That looks amazing. Madam Rosmerta’s outdone herself again!”

“I know!” said Gimli and he sat down heavily. “And now I desperately need some butterbeer.”

Ori picked up his jug too and took a small sip. Then, in the blink of an eye, before anyone could comprehend what was going on, Ori’s eyes rolled over and he slumped on the table, completely unconscious.

“Blimey,” cried Gimli as he took another sip from his drink. “The butterbeer isn't that strong, is it?”

“For heaven’s sake, Gimli,” cried Kíli exasperatedly. “Ori’s just passed out!”

While Gimli still looked confused, Fíli wasted no time in checking on Ori. Putting his fingers on Ori’s neck, he finally let out a sigh of relief. “He’s still got a pulse. He’s still alive.”

“I don’t understand…” Gimli’s words were cut out by the loud cry of Madam Rosmerta, who had been drawn to their table by the ruckus they had made. “What, in the name of Merlin… Oh, mine, is he unconscious?”

“We need to get him to the Hospital Wing.” Fíli was trying to get Ori’s face off the table but failing miserably. Ori’s prostrate body simply slumped back to the table, which filled Kíli with dread. Stepping forward, he and Fíli each grabbed one of Ori’s arms to finally lift their completely unconscious friend off the table.

“Gimli,” wheezed Kíli for Ori might not look it but he was a proper heavy Dwarf, “go and find help! It’s a long way back to the castle and Ori can’t wait.”

“What?” Gimli still looked shell shocked. “Oh, right, I’ll just…”

“But how did this happen?” cried Madam Rosmerta. “Did he hit his head or something?”

Before Kíli could answer, the familiar voice of Thorin came to the rescue. He had never been so relieved to see his Potions professor before. Thorin would know what to do.

“What is the matter here?” asked Thorin in his usual calm authoritative demeanour, which quieted the chaos immediately. “What’s wrong with Ori?”

“He’s just collapsed, professor,” Kíli said with an urgent tone. “We don’t know what has happened but he was fine a minute ago.”

The look on Thorin’s face changed immediately as he rushed forward to them and grabbed hold of Ori. Kíli watched in amazement as Thorin picked Ori up as if he weighed little more than a feather and placed him gently on the bench next to their table. Bending over, Thorin examined Ori closely while muttering various spells to either diagnose or heal. Kíli watched anxiously as Thorin fished a small phial out of his pocket and tipped its content slowly into Ori’s mouth. After what seemed like a lifetime, Thorin finally looked up. “Ori has been hit by an extremely powerful and dangerous sleeping draught. I have stabilised him so he’s in no immediate danger until I can find the antidote for him. How did he become like this? Did he drink anything?”

“Just some butterbeer,” said Kíli helplessly, “but I don’t…”

Thorin rose from his seat and strode over to their table so fast that he almost knocked Kíli over. Picking up the jugs, he sniffed each one of them carefully before picking one up carefully. “This one has been infused with the sleeping draught. I presume Ori only took a small sip because he would have been dead otherwise.” He turned to Madam Rosmerta. “Did you sell them this butterbeer, madam?”

“Are you suggesting…” cried Madam Rosmerta, looking absolutely scandalous. “Don’t be absurd, Thorin! Why on earth would I poison my customers? It’s not very good for business at all, is it?”

“I don’t know,” said Thorin darkly. “Perhaps someone has paid you well enough for you to forget about your business.”

“How dare you?” Madam Rosmerta puffed up her chest and towered over Thorin, who did not look a bit intimidated. “I’ve been serving food and drinks to Hogwarts students and staff for over 20 years! Never have I been accused of providing subpar food, let alone poisonous ones. My business is my life and I will never trade it for all the money in the world. You’re welcome to search our bar and kitchen. If you can find anything out of the ordinary, I’ll send myself to Azkaban!”

The expression on Thorin’s face hardly changed but he did turn to Kíli and Fíli. “Did anyone else touch the drink?”

“No,” Fíli shook his head, “I went to get the drink and it didn’t leave my hands until I set them down on the table. There was a bit of mayhem with Mister Lock but I’m sure nobody came to our table. Gimli and Ori then went to get the food while Kíli and I started drinking. None of us felt anything. When they came back with food, they each grabbed a jug. Ori took a sip and passed out immediately.”

This made no sense to Kíli. Gimli clearly could not have done that because he was with Ori the whole time, not to mention the minor detail that he was Ori’s best friend. He and Fíli would not have done that but then who? Even though the most likely suspect was Madam Rosmerta, Kíli felt that her indignation and explanation seemed both sincere and plausible. Could it be… “It could only be Mister Lock then.”

“And I thought you were stupid before.” Bolg’s sneering voice made them all whip around. Standing at the door, Bolg was holding Mister Lock in his arms. “A cat, poisoning a student? Are you off your rocker?”

“You!” Kíli fired up at once. He knew something was not right! “Have you been hiding here the whole time, biding your time so you can slip some poison into our cups?”

“Accusing me now, are you?” smirked Bolg as he stroked Mister Lock affectionately. “For your information, I have just arrived. Plenty of people have seen me just walking through the door.”

“Then why is Mister Lock with you?”

“Is it a crime to pick up a cat from the floor?” said Bolg lazily. “You know, your accusation is beginning to get suspicious. Are you accusing me so you can hide what has truly happened?”

“What are you…”

“It’s obvious, isn’t it?” Bolg’s malicious laugh got Kíli’s blood boiling. “It’s either you or Arken. My money is on Arken because you’re rubbish at Potions. What is it? Jealous of Luinson’s good grades in school?”

“Mister Gundabad,” Thorin’s deep voice finally put a stop to Bolg’s incessant talking, “this is a serious accusation to make. Do you have any evidence to back it up?”

“I’m simply stating the obvious, sir,” answered Bolg with a fake smile that showed off his sharp teeth. “As for evidence,” he walked closer to the table and his face lit up when his eye fell on something. “Isn’t that a potion phial on the chair? Must have fallen out of someone’s pocket.”

Everyone’s gaze followed Bolg to that chair. Sure enough, there was a small phial on top of the chair that Fíli occupied not 5 minutes ago. Acting before anyone else did, Thorin snatched the phial from the seat and opened it. The look on his face said it all. It was the poisonous sleeping draught.

“I don’t understand,” muttered Gimli. “Why would Fíli poison Ori?”

“Because he didn’t!” cried Kíli angrily. “Of course, he didn’t. This is ridiculous! Ori is our friend! Why on earth would Fíli or any one of us for that matter poison him? Someone has set us up!”

“Ah, of course,” mocked Bolg, slapping his gigantic hand on his forehead. “It’s always somebody else’s fault! Why didn’t I think of that before? Because perfect Fíli can never do anything wrong. He’s uncle’s best nephew, isn’t he? So it must be somebody else’s fault. Unless,” his voice lowered dangerously, “you only say so with such conviction because you know that out of the two of you, Fíli didn’t do it. There was only one way to know that for sure…”

“This is enough,” said Fíli firmly before Kíli could retort back. “This has nothing to do with Kíli. I’m the one who brought the drink and the phial is on my chair. Leave Kíli out of it.” He turned to Thorin, “I am innocent, uncle. But I understand how this looks. I am willing to take responsibility for this and any punishment that you deem fit.”

“Fíli!”

“I should have been more careful,” said Fíli. “If I had been more alert, Ori’s drink wouldn’t have been poisoned. It is partially my fault and I will pay for my lapse of attention,  _ uncle _ .”

The crease in between Thorin’s eyebrows deepened. He was frowning so hard that Kíli was sure his eyebrows would soon join together permanently. He could tell that Thorin was trying his hardest to get Fíli out of this situation but in the end, he sighed, “Very well. I admire your courage to take responsibilities when it is required of you. We will continue to investigate the incident. In the meantime, you will receive detentions with,” he paused a moment before continuing, “Professor Bilbo twice a week for a month. He will be informed of my decision and it will be up to him to decide the content of your detention. Fifty points will be taken from Ravenclaw as well. Any questions?”

“No, sir,” said Fíli, his head bowed low. Nobody in the tavern seemed to disagree with Thorin’s decision, except Bolg, who looked livid. Yet he could not argue because Thorin’s decision was fair. Holding Mister Lock tightly against his chest, Bolg gave Fíli a look of such deep malice that Kíli was convinced that Bolg was the one behind it all and his plan was somehow thwarted.

Thorin nodded and turned around to pocket the phial of sleeping draught. “I will need to analyse this. Hopefully, this will allow me to find the antidote much faster.” Instead of a Levitation spell, he picked up the still unconscious Ori carefully and walked out of the tavern. Kíli, Fíli, and Gimli followed suit.

“Why did you take the blame when everybody knows you’re innocent?” Kíli asked the moment they were alone. “You’ve clearly been set up, probably by Bolg!”

“I had to,” sighed Fíli. “Didn’t you see? Bolg was trying to pin this on one of us. I can’t let him do that to you! This will be on your record! An attack on a fellow student! Your future will be ruined.”

“But it will be on your record too! How can I live with myself now that I’ve ruined your future?” 

“Except his future won’t be ruined because he’s Professor Thorin’s nephew,” intercepted Gimli, who looked sombre, a sight very different from his usual merry self. “Fíli doesn’t need to worry about his future because it’s all set. This incident won’t affect his reputation because Professor Thorin knows he’s innocent and he knows that Fíli only stepped up to protect you. He’ll make sure all the Dwarves know it too so they will only admire Fíli’s sacrifice and his courage to protect others when the time calls for it. It will only inspire loyalty amongst us because Fíli is a dependable leader.”

The apologetic look on Fíli’s face told Kíli that Gimli was quite right. Once again, he was struck by how little he knew about the politics and intricate workings of the magical society. Even people like Gimli, who seemed as if they did not care about anything other than food, Quidditch, and magical beasts, knew such things while he, Kíli, remained blissfully ignorant. Of course, Thorin would take the moment to berate Kíli on his lack of tact, had he been there. Yet somehow, Kíli did not mind this particular shortcoming of his. He doubted that he would ever grow used to living with so many unsaid rules governing his everyday behaviour. “Even if that’s true, still, aren’t we innocent until proven guilty? Why should either of us take the blame? Why didn’t Professor Thorin insist on finding out what had happened?”

“Because all the evidence points to us being the culprit and we can’t find any evidence of a frame-up.”

“But the evidence is just, er,” Kíli thought hard to find the right word from some detective TV shows that he had seen when he was in the orphanage, “circumstantial. Yeah, that’s it. It’s not enough to, er, convict us.”

“Maybe not,” sighed Fíli. “But Bolg made it very clear that he thought uncle would not be a fair judge because, well, he’s my uncle. This puts uncle in a very difficult position. If he insists on our innocence when the only evidence we’ve got points to us, he will lose his credibility. Furthermore, Bolg will insist on bringing someone else to decide our fate. And you know who he’s going to bring.”

“His father.” It all made sense to Kíli now. Fíli and Thorin did what they had to in order to protect him because the alternative was to have Azog decide his fate, which would certainly be 100 times worse. This must be what Bolg had hoped yet Thorin managed to intervene before it came to that. “Is that why he assigned your detentions to Professor Bilbo, not himself or even Professor Dwalin?”

“Exactly!” Fíli smiled now that Kíli had finally caught on. “This way Bolg can’t argue that they’ll be unfair and go easy on me. Everybody knows that uncle’s not bosom friends with Professor Bilbo so he has no reason to give me any preferential treatment.”

“Yet Professor Bilbo is still the softest and nicest chap in the world and will, therefore, never give you any real trouble.” Kíli had to admire Thorin’s quick thinking. Otherwise, Fíli might end up in detention with Alfrid!

“So you see, we really don’t have a lot of choices, especially when you need to think fast under the scrutiny of a whole tavern of people, the owner of which had just been accused wrongly by you,” said Fíli. “It’s a lot of pressure.”

Still, it was so unfair since neither of them did this. The real question was, however, who did. As much as Kíli would like to blame Bolg, he had to admit that Bolg did just walk into the tavern. Did he find someone else to do his dirty work or did he somehow manage to slip into the tavern to poison them and slip out during the chaos? If he did, how? They did not see anyone touching their drinks. Moreover, why Ori? Bolg hated them, not Ori. Nobody disliked Ori! Before he could discuss any of those with Fíli, however, they had already arrived at the Hospital Wing.

Inside, they were not surprised to find Thorin standing next to Ori’s bed while Oín was bustling around. “Good call giving him a Stabilizing Draught, Thorin. All his physiological status is within the normal range. It is towards the lower end but that is to be expected since he’s in essentially a coma. I can keep giving him nutrient draughts but maybe you want to consider putting him under a stasis charm until you find the antidote?”

Thorin looked pensive. “Which one would you recommend?”

Oín shrugged. “Either has its advantages. If we put the lad under the stasis charm, we don’t need to worry about his muscle deteriorating, his vital signs changing, etc. But if we don’t, his body might be able to slowly fight off the sleeping draught and wake up on his own. You’re the Potions Master. You have to tell me how strong this potion is and how fast you can find the antidote.”

“It is very strong,” said Thorin grimly. “I, therefore, doubt that Ori can fight it off himself. I don’t know how long it will take me to find an antidote either so I think it best to put him under a stasis charm. It’s best done by Lord Elrond since he’s the Charms master. He should be here any minute now anyway. I’ve informed him since he’s Ori’s Head of House.”

“Very well.” Oín nodded. “If the sleeping draught is that strong, this is the best course of action. Speaking of that, how did someone create such a powerful sleeping draught that even you don’t know an antidote for? Hardly anyone’s as good a potioneer as you.”

“That’s because Thorin did the hard work for them.” Dwalin’s voice made everyone look around. Taking a couple of long strides, he was by Ori’s side almost immediately to check on the Ravenclaw, who, to Kíli’s great relief, had regained some of the colours in his face. The steady rise and fall of his chest made Ori look as if he was in a deep yet peaceful sleep.

“What do you mean, professor?” asked Kíli. The flaring nostrils and the gradually reddening face betrayed Thorin’s displeasure with the course of the conversation but before he could say anything, Dwalin cut over him.

“I mean that whoever made the potion didn’t make it from scratch. They must have stolen the Draught of Living Death, the strongest sleeping draught there is, from Thorin’s personal cupboard and modified it.”

So that was the precious yet dangerous thing stolen from Thorin’s office! Not just some precious stones, but highly advanced and powerful potions of the highest quality because they were made by Thorin. Somehow Kíli was not surprised, for it did sound incredibly Dwarfish and Thorin to use the most precious metal for his most complicated potions. He simply could not resist showing off and giving his hardest work the grandeur it deserved.

Thorin closed his eyes briefly before opening them again. “I have good reasons not to publicise the content of my personal stock.”

“Of course,” said Dwalin sarcastically, “secrecy and pride. Yeh don’t want anyone to find out that yeh’ve been defeated by someone with a Niffler while yeh’ve been guarding those potions like a dragon with its hoard of gold. Times have changed, Thorin. We’re no longer at war with the rest of the world. Maybe we can open up a little, ask for some help.”

“I can take care of my business, thank you very much.” The warning tone in Thorin’s voice was clear but Dwalin was not deterred. Kíli watched in sheer admiration as his favourite professor, the always loyal Dwalin, stood up to Thorin for what he truly believed in. “But yeh haven’t, have ya? And poor Ori almost paid the price. He only narrowly escaped death because of sheer luck. Hell, he may still pay the price if we can’t find the antidote. Isn’t an innocent life too high a price to pay for yer pride and secrecy? If yeh continue like this, how many more will suffer? Please, Thorin! Yeh know I always have and always will stand by yeh but this time, yeh’re in the wrong.”


	12. Chapter 12

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> With the mystery of Ori's attack and the final Quidditch match, Kíli found himself busy again. But the pay-off was well worth it.

After promising them that he would inform them on any progress of Ori, Oín sent Kíli, Fíli, and Gimli out of the Hospital Wing just as Professor Elrond and Professor Gandalf arrived. Reluctantly, they trudged back to the Library where they could discuss the events of the day more.

But first, they had another obstacle in front of them, in the form of Dori.

“How dare you show your face here after what you’ve done to my baby brother!” None of them had ever seen the meek, fussy, old Dori lose his temper like this before. Right now, however, with his neatly-beaded hair loose, his eyes bulging and his face red, Dori looked scarier than Dáin’s rampaging Blast-Ended Skrewts. “Why would you do that to Ori? He’s never done you any wrong, Fíli! Why?!”

Kíli took a step in front of Fíli and replied with the courage he did not necessarily feel. “Fíli has done absolutely nothing. Someone set him up!” He took a deep breath and continued imploringly, “You know Fíli well, Mister Dori! You watched him grow up! You know he would never harm anyone, let alone Ori!”

The anger on Dori’s face only receded slightly as he scrutinised their face suspiciously. Kíli gazed straight back at Dori with a clear conscience. He had got nothing to hide. None of them did. Fíli was innocent after all. Finally, after a tense couple of minutes, Dori’s shoulders slumped and he let out a cry of anguish.

“I’m so sorry, Mister Dori!” cried Fíli, who rushed forward to put his arms around the clearly distraught librarian. “I should have paid more attention. I’m sorry I couldn’t protect him.”

“It’s no, not your fault.” Dori hiccuped and fished a handkerchief out of his pocket to wipe his face. “Nobody could have predicted that. I just don’t understand why they would pick my sweet Ori. He’s just so harmless.”

“I don’t know,” said Fíli, closing his eyes. Kíli could tell that this was killing his best friend and he would bet anything he had that Fíli wished that he was the one in the Hospital Wing, not Ori.

“It’s okay.” Dori patted Fíli’s hand gently and straightened his robes. “I must go to the Hospital Wing now. I need to see Ori.” He hesitated and looked around the library but Fíli cut him to it. “We’ll look after the library while you’re gone. Actually, why don’t we close it temporarily until you come back.”

“Right,” nodded Dori, “that might be best. Thanks, lads. And sorry about earlier.”

Once Dori was out of sight, Kíli locked the library door so nobody could enter while Fíli put up a sign of “Closed”. Now that they had the library pretty much to themselves, they could resume their discussion in perfect privacy.

“So,” started Gimli, “when do you reckon the poison was put into the drink?”

“It must be before I got the drink,” said Fíli, “I don’t remember anybody getting anywhere close to me when I brought it back.”

“So nobody bumped into you or anything?”

“No. The tavern wasn’t that busy, remember? They certainly couldn’t have put it in then. There was a bit of chaos with Mister Lock after I put the drinks on the table but I honestly don’t think anyone approached our table.”

“I don’t think so either,” agreed Kíli, “I mean, okay, maybe we’re all a bit distracted but I still think the chance of us all missing someone at our table is pretty slim.”

“Let’s at least keep it open then.” Gimli rummaged inside his bag to extract a quill and some parchments out and started writing down everything they had said. “So it’s either poisoned before Fíli bought the drink or during the whole Mister Lock mayhem.”

“If it’s poisoned before you get the drink,” something suddenly occurred to Kíli, “how does the poisoner know who’ll drink the poisoned beer. Only one jug is poisoned, isn’t it? Any one of us could have been the victim.”

“Maybe the poisoner didn’t care which one of us dies,” said Fíli darkly, which made Kíli shiver. “I mean, honestly, you’d think you and I would be the intended target.” He suddenly stopped. “What if we were the target but the jug somehow got mixed up. It was certainly possible with you jumping around like a maniac.”

“You try having a psychopathic cat latched on your leg,” said Kíli. “We may be the target but that still doesn’t explain how the attacker only poisoned one jug unless they were fairly certain it was the intended one. Back when you had bought the drink, they’d have no idea which jug is whose. That’s leaving a lot to chance, isn’t it?”

“I think Kíli’s right,” Gimli said as he scribbled more on his parchment. “The attacker must have poisoned the jug after you set them down on the table. The drink then somehow got mixed up.”

Fíli stood up and started pacing up and down, his brows furrowed in concentration. “If so, it must have happened when Kíli nearly knocked mine off the table. “Ori was the one who caught it, wasn’t it?”

“Sweet Mahal, you’re right!” Gimli’s eyes were wide with shock. “I remember now! Ori caught your drink and when he put it back on the table, he put it right in front of him.”

“So when I grabbed my drink,” Fíli stopped on his track, looking equally shocked by the revelation, “I grabbed the jug closest to me, which was originally Ori’s!”

And that was the real truth. Fíli was the intended target all along and only narrowly missed it by sheer luck. Kíli could feel cold sweat trickling down his back. If Fíli had picked up the poisoned jug, he would not have taken just a small sip as Ori did. He would have gulped the whole thing down and…

“They want to kill you and you could have died!” said Kíli softly, his voice shaking slightly. “Oh, Fíli.”

“Instead, we have Ori lying unconscious in the Hospital Wing, his fate unknown, all because of me,” said Fíli darkly. “I don’t know which one’s worse.”

“Don’t blame yourself!” Kíli told Fíli sternly. “This isn’t your fault! Besides, Ori’s still alive and he’s in the right hands now. Professor Thorin will find the antidote. You should trust your uncle!”

Fíli grasped his hair desperately. “I know. But still…” He took a deep breath to compose himself. “If the attacker is after me, it would make sense for them to frame me after their failed attack so they can at least get me somehow, which leaves us…”

“Bolg!” Kíli’s eyes lit up. Finally, he was not the only one suspecting the Slytherin Orc.

There was, of course, one still inexplicable thing about Bolg’s involvement: he wasn’t at the Three Broomsticks until after the attack. Could he somehow make himself invisible?

“There are spells to make yourself invisible but they’re very advanced,” explained Fíli. A very powerful Disillusionment Charm, which disguised someone by making them the same colour and texture as their background items, could make the wizard practically invisible to anyone. The only thing was, Disillusionment Charm was not taught to anyone other than N.E.W.T. students and to achieve complete invisibility through the charm required extremely advanced magical ability, something Kíli highly doubted that Bolg possessed.

“Maybe he has an Invisibility Cloak,” suggested Gimli. “They’re not exactly rare and you can buy them from Diagon Alley. Azog is rich enough to afford one for sure.”

If there was one thing Kíli would like to own in the Wizarding World, other than his broomstick, it would be an Invisibility Cloak. Of course, he could hardly afford one but he was surprised that neither Fíli nor Gimli had one either. He reckoned it would be extremely useful for any kind of less than rule-abiding activities.

“They’re very expensive for what they are,” Fíli explained matter-of-factly. “It’s just a cloak with some spells cast on it. After a while, the spells wear off or the cloak gets ripped and you can’t use it anymore. Uncle would never let me waste money on something like this.”

“Bug Azog might,” said Kíli reasonably, “especially if Bolg manages to convince him that he’ll use it to hurt us.”

“Maybe,” mused Fíli, “I can ask Professor Nori to make some inquiries into stores that sell them.”

“Why Professor Nori?”

“Because he knows everyone,” smirked Gimli. “Not just everyone in Diagon Alley, but those in the black markets of Knockturn Alley too. If you want information, you go to Professor Nori.”

That certainly sounded like Nori, smiled Kíli. Moreover, with Ori hurt, Kíli was certain that Nori would be more than motivated and even appreciative that they were involving him in catching the culprit. Now that they had a plan, Kíli felt much better about the situation. He was sure they would catch Bolg because how else could he have poisoned the jug and possibly dropped the incriminating phial in the process.

“That still didn’t explain how he got the Niffler into uncle’s office though,” frowned Fíli.

“Couldn’t he just use his Invisibility Cloak to hide in the corner or something?” That seemed like the most likely explanation to Kíli.

Fíli shook his head. “Uncle’s ward goes beyond just his office. It covers the area in front of it too. If Bolg was in there, he would have triggered the alarm. Outside the ward was the corridor and it was packed with students on their way to the first class. He couldn’t have stayed hidden without anyone bumping into him. The invisibility doesn’t make you disappear.”

Slightly stumped, Kíli perked up quickly. “It’s okay. Once we can prove it’s Bolg, we can interrogate him all we want and get to the bottom of all this mess. I’m so sick of him outsmarting us!”

\------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

One other aftermath of the incident was that Fíli needed to serve detentions with Bilbo, something none of them paid much attention to until Fíli went to find Bilbo to discuss it. When he came back, he did not look too happy.

“Is everything alright?” asked Kíli in a worried tone. He knew that Bilbo would never do anything to hurt Fíli, even though he was supposed to punish him. But what if someone else like Alfrid managed to get involved?

Fíli sighed dramatically, “I guess it’s not the end of the world. I just don’t like the fact that I need to spend two nights a week in detention. I’m already behind on my homework.”

“You’ve already finished all your homework that’s due next week,” deadpanned Kíli. “I’m sure you can afford two nights off. What is the detention then?”

“I’m going to go to the Forbidden Forest to collect some very rare herbs with Professor Bilbo.”

Kíli felt like shaking his best friend! He was going to go into the Forbidden Forest two nights a week and there he was, worrying about homework! Talk about priorities!

“I’ll be fine!” Fíli insisted. “For one thing, I won’t be going by myself. Professor Bilbo is a perfectly capable wizard. For another, it will be a great learning experience! We won’t get to even see those herbs in class until N.E.W.T., let alone collect them in their natural habitat. I know I’m not Ori,” his face fell at the mention of their unconscious friend, “but I am actually quite excited about it.”

Kíli rolled his eyes. He forgot that sometimes Fíli could be just as much a bookworm as Ori. Still, he felt uneasy about Fíli’d detention. He knew that Bilbo was more than he looked but he could not help but wonder how skilful he was in the duelling department because if someone was looking to hurt Fíli, the detentions were a golden opportunity. “Shall I go with you?”

“Nah,” Fíli waved his hand airily, “no need to drag you into it as well. I’ll be fine and you’re indeed behind on your homework.”

Fíli’s first detention came the next Thursday evening. After assuring Kíli repeatedly that he would be fine, Fíli left for the Forest at 6 pm. Kíli’s only comfort was that as the days were getting longer, Fíli might be able to return before it was completely dark. Sighing, he debated what he should do in the meantime. He could go and practice some Quidditch as their final match was coming up in little more than a week’s time. Yet somehow this felt like an unfair advantage when Fíli was cooped up in detention. He also needed to finish his Khuzdûl translation. Having made up his mind, Kíli left the Great Hall to head to the library.

The library was unusually empty. The upcoming Quidditch matches must have distracted students from their revisions. Picking a secluded corner, Kíli settled himself in front of an empty desk and extracted his Khuzdûl textbook from his school bag. The translation he was supposed to finish was an old Dwarf ballad called “Misty Mountains”, which was their most difficult translation yet because it was more poetry than prose.

Kíli was finding it hard to concentrate on his own. He had always had someone to keep him company while he studied, whether it was Fíli or Ori. Now, however, with Ori still in the Hospital Wing and Fíli out in the Forest, Kíli was left to his own devices. Flipping through the textbook for what felt like the umpteen time, Kíli was ready to give up.

“Mind if I join you?”

To Kíli’s great surprise, it was Justin Finch-Fletchley standing next to his table with his bulging school bag. He fidgeted when Kíli looked up and gave him a tentative smile, as if uncertain if his presence was welcome. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to intrude. I just saw you working alone and I thought maybe we could, you know, work together or something. I still haven’t finished my Khuzdûl translation yet.”

“Yes, of course,” Kíli said quickly as he cleared away some of the stray parchment on the table to make room for Justin. “I’d love to work together. I’m working on the translation right now.”

Justin beamed at him before taking the seat next to Kíli. As it soon turned out, he was an excellent study partner because he was a typical Hufflepuff, diligent without being overbearing. His notes were meticulous while his handwriting was the most elegant Kíli had ever seen.

“Mum and dad made sure I got a thorough education before I came to Hogwarts,” explained Justin with a shrug. “My name was down for Eton but then I got the letter from Hogwarts. It was a rather easy decision I suppose. Just the idea of breaking family tradition is incentive enough.”

“I didn’t need much persuasion either,” Kíli admitted with a smile. It was nice to talk to someone who shares similar childhood experiences with him, even though Justin, judging by his surname and his expensive stationery, came from a very posh family. “The wizarding world is too fascinating to pass on. I still find myself astonished every day.”

Justin laughed. “I know what you mean. It’s mental, isn’t it? All these things that they take for granted are just completely foreign to us.”

This was exactly how Kíli felt and he was beyond relieved that he was not the only one. Despite his Muggle upbringing, Kíli realised that none of his close friends was Muggleborn, which meant that he was always the only one who did not understand. It must have been different for Justin. “Do you ever feel, I don’t know, not good enough.”

Putting down his quill, Justin turned around to look at Kíli in the eyes. The expression on his face was serious. “Did someone bully you because you grew up in the Muggle world?”

Kíli shrugged. Quite a few Slytherins never lost the opportunity to mock him and then there was Bolg. Even Legolas only stopped this year. Justin seemed to understand what he was thinking. “Don’t mind them. Some people say things about my parents too but I just ignore them. They’re not worth your time or energy.”

It was perhaps easy for Justin to think this way, for he grew up in an affluent family where he never wanted for anything. Even in the Muggle world, he belonged to the social elite. Kíli, on the other hand, grew up in an orphanage. He was at the bottom of the ladder in either world. “It’s just a bit frustrating sometimes when everyone else knows something but I’m completely clueless.”

“But we know things they don’t,” Justin said encouragingly. “Think about how confused they’ll be when they come to Muggle London. Bain couldn’t stop asking me about elevators and the tube. He thinks electricity is more magical than, you know, magic.”

“Justin’s right, you know.” Without either of them noticing, Tauriel had sneaked up on them from behind, making both of them jump. Laughing at the startled expression on their faces, Tauriel sat herself down on the bench opposite them.

“You almost gave me a heart attack, Tauriel,” Kíli complained jokingly. Justin, on the other hand, blushed. “Hi, Tauriel.”

“Relax, boys.” Tauriel’s smile was bright and somewhat freer than Kíli had remembered in a long time. “I just overheard your conversation. Justin’s right. Your Muggle upbringing is your advantage, Kíli. You can see our world from a different perspective and spot problems that we’ve grown too accustomed to. I’ve always said that we keep burying our heads in the sand and it’s time for some change. But none of us can do it because we all think the same way. We need someone like you to help us.”

This was something Kíli had never thought about before. He had always regarded his Muggle background as a disadvantage but now he felt much better, almost proud, about who he was. Tauriel was right. Some of the practices in the wizarding world such as House Elves was downright backwards. He had the potential to bridge the gap between the Muggle and Wizarding world.

For the next week, Kíli continued to study with Justin whenever Fíli was not available. He enjoyed the kind Hufflepuff’s company. It was also quite refreshing to get away from the Gryffindor Ravenclaw rivalry for a change.

“Nobody cared about the Hufflepuff versus Slytherin match anyway.” Bain, who sometimes joined their study group, complained in the library one day. Judging by his tone, however, he was not that bothered by it. “Still, I’m glad we won. But all eyes are on you lot now. It must be tough.”

“It is,” Kíli admitted quietly. If he was being completely honest, he still could not decide how he felt about this whole thing. On one hand, he found the possibility of winning the Quidditch Cup and thus very likely the House Cup entirely thrilling. On the other hand, he hated the rivalry, which meant that his Ravenclaw friends were acting strangely in front of him while Fíli had almost no time to spend with him. Of course, he could never say this to a Gryffindor for it would be tantamount to utter treason but Hufflepuffs were different and Kíli was grateful for an unbiased audience.

“Do you think you can win?” Justin asked with a hint of excitement in his voice. Kíli thought he understood why. Ravenclaw had dominated the Quidditch Cup in the last several years and people would love to see a change.

Kíli shrugged. It was Ravenclaw they were playing against after all. Even though he felt fairly confident in their team’s ability and somewhat reassured that they had got a lead, he knew that the pressure would eventually fall on him to catch the Snitch. That was the only way for them to ensure their victory. “It’s 50-50, I suppose.”

Bain patted him encouragingly on the back. “You have got a fair chance. Dad said that your team shows the real potential of ending Ravenclaw dominance.”

This bolstered Kíli’s confidence. Professor Bard knew his Quidditch and he was rarely someone to give out empty promises. Somewhat guiltily, Kíli realised that Fíli’s detentions only gave the Gryffindors an additional advantage. Not only was his friend missing extra practices due to his detentions, but he was also exhausted due to the added pressure from the limited time for studying. As unfair as it might be, it was bound to affect Fíli’s performances.

When Saturday finally arrived, Kíli was beyond nervous, even more so than his teammates. Oliver was muttering to himself throughout breakfast while pulling on his hair, hardly a reassuring sight. The evil twins, on the other hand, did everything more exuberantly than normal. Their laughter was ten times louder, almost shrill. Yet Kíli noticed that Elladan was drinking more pumpkin juice than strictly necessary or beneficial. Aragorn looked the calmest of them all but Kíli caught his eyes drifting to Arwen every now and then. Kíli wondered what it was like, facing the one you cared about the most on another team. This was Kíli’s first time but Aragorn had done it time and time again. The fact that their relationship survived this long spoke volumes of their love for each other.

“You need to eat something.” Tauriel’s voice brought him back to his breakfast table. Giving him a bright smile, Tauriel put some more eggs on Kíli’s plate while pouring more pumpkin juice into his goblet. She was so close that Kíli could smell her hair, which reminded him of the fresh leaves of the woods. Taking a deep breath to steady himself, for the smell was simply intoxicating, Kíli returned the smile and picked up his fork. When he looked up, however, he saw Fíli across at the Ravenclaw table, his eyes full of storms. Kíli frowned. He thought Fíli would not take this match so seriously. It was just Quidditch after all.

“Okay team, time to get going!” Oliver barked over the noise of the Great Hall. Getting to his feet slowly, Kíli shot one last glance at the Ravenclaw table but Fíli was no longer looking at him. There was nothing to be done. Kíli had to focus on the match.

The weather was almost perfect for this final and most-anticipated match of the entire season. The wind was gentle and the sun bright. The stadium was packed and already more excited than Kíli had ever remembered. Everything was ready for the match.

“Good luck, team.” Oliver had forgone his usual long-winded speech but everyone knew what he wanted to say. This was his one last chance and they wanted to make it count.

With the sharp whistle from Professor Bard, all the players were off. Kíli wasted no time in looking for the Snitch. Gryffindor was in the lead going into the match so all he needed to do was to end the match as quickly as possible. Nothing else mattered to Kíli at this point. He kept scanning every single corner of the pitch, trying to look for that flighty little golden ball. Not far from him, Cho Chang was doing the same thing except she had her eyes on him as well.

Unlike the match against Slytherin, Gryffindor versus Ravenclaw never had the same level of animosity. Everyone was playing fair and square. This did not mean that the intensity of the match was any less, however, for everyone wanted desperately to win. Barely 5 minutes into the match, a Bludger hit by Fíli zoomed towards Kíli, nearly knocking him off his broom had he not ducked at the last minute.

“Watch out, Kíli!” Tauriel had just flown past him, possibly to check that he was still alive. “Don’t pull your punch because Fíli obviously isn’t!”

As the match went on, however, Kíli could tell that Fíli was getting tired. All those hours of lost sleep and stress were finally catching up with him. His hit was no longer as powerful while his attention was slipping. Even though Kíli felt bad about it, the Gryffindor team pounced on Fíli’s weakness like a hawk. The evil twins sent Bludger after Bludger at Fíli that soon all he could do was to stay on his broom. At this rate, Fíli would be taken out of the match on a stretcher!

“What in the name of Merlin are you doing, Kíli?” Oliver was practically screaming, his hair on end and his eyes red. Kíli shook his head and forced himself to look away. He had just been staring at Fíli for a good 5 minutes while abandoning the search for the Snitch completely. No wonder Oliver was livid.

“Get a grip, Kíli!” Tauriel shouted from 10 feet away. Her face was red from all the exertion and she had never looked so beautiful before. “If you want to help Fíli, you need to end the match before he’s killed!”

This gave Kíli renewed energy and motivation as he started flying frantically around the pitch, trying to find the Snitch. Tauriel was right. The only way he could help was to catch the Snitch.

Finally, he spotted that little spectre of gold, hovering below the Gryffindor stand, which was quite hard to see amongst the sea of gold and red. But Kíli lost no time at all. Bending down on his broomstick, Kíli shot at the Snitch at record speed. He could hear the shouting of the crowd and the whistling of the wind yet they all sounded muffled somehow. Probably because none of that mattered. He had eyes only for the Snitch.

When his fingers closed on the little golden ball, Kíli could finally hear the noise from the stadium properly. It was as if someone had turned up the volume, which was deafening, especially from the Gryffindor stand. Kíli could see Gimli jumping up and down like a madman while waving his Gryffindor scarf and shouting at the top of his lungs. Before Kíli could look any further, he felt rather than saw his teammates crashing into him from behind. He was wrapped so tightly by his teammates that he could barely turn around to see them. Even amidst all the chaos, Kíli thought he could distinguish Tauriel’s voice and touch. He could not make out what she was saying but he had a fairly good guess. Closing his eyes, Kíli allowed himself to bask in the glory of their victory. Finally, after all their hard work, they were the champions.

“You were amazing, Kíli!” When Tauriel finally turned Kíli around, he could see the smile on her face, so bright that it dimmed the sunlight. It was like staring into his wildest and most beautiful dream so Kíli acted without thinking. Flinging his arms around Tauriel’s neck, he stood on his tiptoes and kissed her.

He could feel Tauriel freeze on the spot, her body rigid. Just as he was starting to panic, Tauriel slowly started to relax. Tipping her face down slightly, she opened her mouth a small fraction, which was more than anything Kíli could have hoped for. Taking the opportunity, Kíli explored Tauriel’s mouth with his tongue rather clumsily. Just like her intoxicating smell, Tauriel tasted like fresh leaves and fragrant flowers, a taste Kíli was sure he would never get tired of. This was, without any doubt, the most ecstatic moment of his life, even with the wolf-whistling of his teammates in the background.

The kiss seemed to last forever but in reality, it might only be a few seconds. When Kíli finally opened his eyes to look at Tauriel, he could see a small smile on her face. Before he could say another word, however, Kíli felt himself lifted off the ground. Looking down frantically, Kíli saw the evil twins, each holding one of his legs so he was resting on their shoulders. Their little parade was soon joined by more Gryffindors, dancing and chanting like crazy. Kíli beamed at them. It was extremely satisfying and proud to see how much joy he had brought his fellow housemates. When his eyes looked further, however, Kíli felt his heart stop. Amongst the Gryffindor’s gold and red stood a silver and blue figure. Fíli, who was still wearing his uniform and clutching his broomstick, stood resolutely on the spot despite the chaos around him. The look on his face, the look of shock, disbelief, hurt, and sadness was so overwhelming that Kíli felt a sharp stab to his heart. Was it the result of the match? It couldn’t have been. Otherwise, Fíli wouldn’t have come to, by the look of it, congratulate him. So it must have been the kiss. Fíli must have witnessed Kíli throwing himself at Tauriel for a kiss.

Struggling to get down, Kíli’s attempt was thwarted by the evil twins, who seemed determined to use Kíli as a human banner. All he could do was to be carried into the castle while looking on helplessly as Fíli faded from his sight.

The celebration inside the Gryffindor Common Room was simply a rambunctious affair. It seemed that every Gryffindor had decided to join the party, along with quite a few Hufflepuffs too. The loud celebratory music got everyone singing and dancing so wildly that Kíli soon found himself hiding in the corner to avoid being trampled on. It was quite nice actually, Kíli thought, for it allowed him to observe his fellow housemates.

The evil twins were the centre of attention as they danced with girls after girls who were eager to get closer to the heroes of the match. None of them, in Kíli’s opinion anyway, could match Tauriel, who was laughing so freely that Kíli was sure she was positively radiant. Oliver still had tears on his face but he beamed when he saw his team. No matter how maniacal and mental Oliver might be during the Quidditch season, Kíli could not help but feel respect and fondness for their Quidditch Captain in all but name. If there was one person who deserved to win, it was Oliver.

“We’re all going to miss him, aren’t we?” Aragorn’s reminiscent voice made Kíli look up. Holding out a butterbeer to him, Aragorn looked the soberest of them all.

“I can’t imagine the team without you lot,” Kíli admitted quietly. He knew this was hardly the moment to get sentimental, seeing that they had just won the Quidditch Cup. But he could not help but look to the future, which only made him sad. With Oliver, Aragorn, and the evil twins gone, their Quidditch team would be unrecognisable.

Aragorn smiled. “I can’t imagine leaving Hogwarts and you either. It feels like a chapter of my life is officially closing. People in my year dread the N.E.W.T.s but I fear what comes after that even more.”

This was a sentiment Kíli could completely understand. Growing up in an orphanage meant that one gets to experience separation on a much more regular basis. Some grew used to it but not Kíli. He hated every moment when he had to say goodbye to a friend that he cared about, knowing that he might never see them again.

“We’ll still keep in touch, you know?” Aragorn seemed to have read Kíli’s mind. “I’ll write and maybe even come to visit if my new schedule allows for it.”

“What are your plans after you graduate?” Kíli’s curiosity was piqued. For someone as brilliant as Aragorn, the opportunities must be endless.

Aragorn shrugged. “Nothing is certain without the N.E.W.T. results. But I’ve applied to become an Auror trainee, which of course means more studying and training.”

“Blimey!” Kíli’s eyes grew wide. Becoming an Auror was probably the coolest thing that Kíli could dream of. Not only was it extremely difficult and thus very prestigious, but it was also very dangerous. He knew that his father used to be one, which only increased its intrigue for Kíli. “This is so cool! I’m sure you’ll make it! You’re one of the best wizards I’ve seen.”

Blushing slightly, Aragorn smiled modestly. “Thank you, Kíli. I do hope I can qualify for the training programme, which is very competitive.”

“How long will that take?”

“Another three years before we take the test to become a real Auror. They only want the best.”

“Will Arwen apply with you?”

“No,” Aragorn shook his head, “she’s never interested in law enforcement. She wants to become a Healer, another competitive and difficult career to get into. If she qualifies for the internship, she’ll spend another two to three years shadowing the Healers at St. Mungo’s, you know, the Wizarding Hospital. I guess that matches my timeline quite well actually.”

“So you’ll both be busy,” sighed Kíli. He had hoped that Aragorn or Arwen might be able to visit but that seemed quite unlikely at this point.

“Yeah,” nodded Aragorn. “Cheer up! You’ve still got Tauriel for company. And if the kiss earlier today is anything to go by, I’d say you won’t be missing us.”

Kíli felt his face heat up so quickly that he was sure it could fry an egg. Stuttering incomprehensibly, Kíli was spared the need to respond to this by the arrival of the evil twins, who had spotted them hiding in the corner.

“Come on, Kíli! It’s time to celebrate with your house, not drinking by yourself away from the crowd!” Elladan laughed while Elrohir practically dragged him into the crowd. 

“You’re the hero of today’s match! I’m sure all the girls want to show their appreciation.” The crowd wolf-whistled. The grin on Elrohir’s face grew even bigger when he, to Kíli’s utmost horror, extracted Tauriel from the crowd with his other hand. “But I’m sure you have your eyes on the one and only! Tauriel, why don’t you show our Kíli how much we love him?”


	13. Chapter 13

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> While the disastrous kiss with Tauriel was enough to turn Kíli into a hermit in Tibet, he soon found that he had much more pressing matters at hand.

If one could die from embarrassment, Kíli was sure that he would be dead as a dodo. The kiss, which was the product of the heat of the moment, now looked somehow wrong, especially since Tauriel did not come to seek him out during the celebration at all. Did she regret kissing him back? Had he made a complete arse of himself by practically throwing himself at someone as popular and beautiful as Tauriel?

“Honestly, Elrohir,” Tauriel’s tone was decidedly cheerful and teasing but Kíli could tell from the look in her eyes that she was not happy with the situation either, “one would think you’re simply getting jealous. Do you need me to kiss you too so you can leave poor Kíli alone?”

Even though he was surrounded by people in this hot late spring afternoon, Kíli felt as if he had just stepped into a bucket of ice-cold water. Despite her smile, Tauriel’s meaning was extremely clear: she regretted kissing Kíli and would not do that again.

“Come on, Kíli.” Aragorn’s soft voice was not enough to comfort Kíli this time. His firm grip, however, was able to lead Kíli out of the circle so he would not embarrass himself any further. Kíli followed his Head Boy dazedly, not paying any attention to where he was going at all until they had finally reached an armchair.

“Are you alright?” asked Aragorn softly.

Kíli looked up only to see the concerned look on Aragorn’s face. To be perfectly honest, he had no idea if he was alright or not because he simply could not feel anything. All the emotions had been drained from him and he was just exhausted.

“I’m really sorry.” Aragorn looked it too. “Maybe Tauriel just needs more time. She only recently broke up with Cedric so it’s all very fresh for her. I doubt she’s ready to head straight into a relationship. But she did kiss you back, didn’t she?”

“Maybe she just didn’t want to embarrass me,” said Kíli automatically without any emotion.

Aragorn shook his head. “That’s not Tauriel. I know her well and she won’t compromise on something like this. If she doesn’t want to kiss you, she’ll make it abundantly clear no matter who you are. So no, she didn’t kiss you back simply because she didn’t want to hurt your feelings. She did it because it was what she wanted at the time. I think she’s just got uncertain now that she’s had some time to think about the implications about the kiss. Don’t lose hope though. She clearly likes you. Just give her some time.”

This was the most positive explanation so Kíli hoped with all his heart that it was true. For the moment, however, he could not face going back to the party after what had just transpired. After bidding Aragorn farewell, Kíli climbed up the stairs to his dormitory, which was understandably empty. Throwing himself onto his four-poster bed, Kíli wished more than anything to have Fíli’s company. The mere presence of his friend was enough to alleviate some of his pain. He, however, knew that this was not going to happen, not after what Fíli had witnessed. The only thing he could hope for was that Fíli would not hold his grudge too long this time.

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Unfortunately, Kíli’s wishes were not answered. He did not see Fíli until breakfast on Monday, which was something of a rarity. The only explanation Kíli could come up with was that Fíli was sulking inside the Ravenclaw Tower after the defeat. When he did see Fíli, he could tell that Fíli’s bad mood was caused by more than just Quidditch. His best friend did not even look up when Kíli sat down next to him at the Ravenclaw table.

“Morning, Fíli,” said Kíli tentatively. Fíli, however, pretended not to hear him. Instead, he chose to stare at his porridge so hard that he might set it on fire with the heat of his gaze alone.

Forgoing all pretence, Kíli asked desperately, “What is the matter, Fíli? Are you angry with me because Gryffindor won?”

Before Fíli would deign to respond, Lindir had arrived. One look from his sulking face told Kíli that the Ravenclaw Chaser was not over their loss either. Snorting loudly, Lindir gave Kíli a dirty look before squeezing himself into the impossibly small space between Kíli and Fíli, elbowing Kíli out of the way.

“Oh, honestly!” Kíli was tired of this. Ravenclaw had won the Quidditch Cup so many times before yet none of the Gryffindors acted with such petulance towards them. Surely they would have realised by now that they could not dominate forever.

“In case you haven’t noticed,” Lindir’s tone was cold, “this is the Ravenclaw table. You, on the other hand, are not a Ravenclaw.”

“But I’ve been coming to sit here all this time!” Kíli could not believe his ears. Was Lindir seriously going to pull the House card at him now?

“You were allowed to sit here before because no Ravenclaw objected to it.” Lindir stood his ground without wavering, his eyes still hard. “This has changed now, however. As long as one Ravenclaw does not desire your presence upon us, you are not welcome.”

Before Kíli could argue his point any further, Arwen had come to him. Without a word, Arwen held Kíli’s arm gently and led him away from the Ravenclaw table. Once they were safely at the end of the Gryffindor table, Arwen spoke, “It may not be wise for you to sit at the Ravenclaw table for a while, Kíli.”

“What the hell is going on?” Normally Kíli would show better manners but he simply could not stand it any longer. “All this animosity because of a stupid Quidditch match?”

Arwen tucked a stray strand of her beautiful dark hair behind her pointy ear and sighed, “It’s more than that. You were not there but Fíli was devastated after the match. He refused to speak to anyone and just kept drinking butterbeer. To say that he was in a bad shape was perhaps the understatement of the year. His hangover the next day was massive, not to mention the number of times he had been sick Saturday night. I stayed in his room because I could not trust him on his own,” explained Arwen when Kíli opened his mouth. “It wasn’t just me though. The whole house was incredibly worried about him. Lindir was ready to kidnap him to the Hospital Wing if he did not get better this morning. Fortunately, Fíli’s no longer sick but you can understand why Lindir is very protective of him.”

This had rendered Kíli completely speechless. Never in his life would he imagine that Fíli, the forever collected and calm Fíli, would do something as irrational as this, for this was no other way to describe it. Drinking oneself sick because of a Quidditch match was just, well, mental. “I don’t understand. I never realised that Fíli cared  _ that _ much about Quidditch.”

The look Arwen gave him was most peculiar. It was a mixture of hesitancy, exasperation, and disbelief. “Quidditch is not the only reason why Fíli was upset.”

“But…” Kíli did not understand. He knew that Fíli might be angry with him for kissing Tauriel without telling him but that was hardly any reason to be sad, let alone one to drink oneself into a stupor. “Is it because I kissed Tauriel and did not tell Fíli? I swear it wasn’t planned. It just sort of happened, a heat of the moment thing, you know. If anything did come out of it, I would have told Fíli. Of course, I would. He’s my best friend and nothing will ever change that.”

“So nothing came out of that kiss?” Kíli had never imagined Arwen to be so brutally honest but there they were.

Kíli’s shoulders slumped. “No. I mean, she did kiss me back but that was it. Like I said, it was just the heat of the moment. It’s not like she wants to go out with me or anything. She’s made that quite clear.”

Arwen let out a sigh of relief but the look on her face was sympathetic. “I’m sorry, Kíli. I’m sure she will realise what a big mistake she’s made. You’re a great catch and anyone would be lucky to go out with you.”

Somehow Kíli did not feel that way at all, with his dream girl turning him down and his best friend refusing to speak to him. He gave Arwen a weak smile anyway. He stuck with Gimli for the rest of the day because, well, if Fíli wanted to speak to him, he would have done that. There was nothing Kíli could do because frankly, he did not plan to apologise for either winning the Quidditch Cup or kissing Tauriel. As far as he was concerned, he did nothing wrong and Fíli just needed to get over himself.

Unfortunately, Fíli did not share the same opinion. For the next couple of days, his best friend had managed to completely avoid Kíli, which irked Kíli to no end. On top of that, Thorin’s attitude towards Kíli had returned to the state of when they first met. Kíli had no idea how much the Potions Master knew about what had happened between him and Fíli but he had no way to find out for Thorin communicated only through glares and smirks nowadays. This would not have bothered Kíli that much if he had still got Fíli with him. This time, however, Kíli was alone in this. The only other person who had avoided Kíli so successfully was Tauriel, which did little to improve Kíli’s mood.

“Just give her time,” Aragorn said for what felt like the hundredth time. Kíli could not blame him, however. With the N.E.W.T.s fast approaching, Aragorn spent most of his time in the library immersed in work, which made Kíli grateful that Aragorn even had time to talk to him during his almost non-existent study breaks.

“I doubt she’ll come around,” Kíli said listlessly. “Now I just wish I’ve never kissed her. I’d rather still be her friend than someone she tries actively to avoid.”

Aragorn looked sympathetic but there was nothing he could do. Sometimes Kíli felt incredibly jealous of his relationship with Arwen, which just looked so effortless to Kíli. From the moment Kíli had met them, Aragorn and Arwen had been quietly but deeply in love with each other. They must be each other’s Ones. Kíli wondered when, if ever, he would meet someone like that.

“Hey, Kíli!” Justin had just arrived in the library with the heavy Khuzdûl dictionary tucked under his arms. Kíli smiled at Justin as the Hufflepuff sat down next to him. Justin had been his constant study companion during Fíli’s absence. Kíli would love to spend more time studying with Gimli, with Ori out in the Hospital Wing. Gimi, however, was never one for revision, not to mention that he was often found in Fíli’s company. Not wishing to put his friend, who was a Dwarf after all, in a hard spot where he would be forced to choose, Kíli kept his distance from Gimli outside their dormitory. Besides, he did enjoy Justin’s company. It was a nice change to talk to someone about Muggle things such as football.

After working in their Khuzdûl translation for a good hour, Kíli stretched his arms and legs with a contented sigh. They were almost finished with the translation, which was quite a feat without any help from a Dwarf. They still had a Herbology essay to tackle but hopefully, they could go back to their dormitories to relax afterwards. The fight with Fíli, along with his never-ending nightmares, which had returned with a vengeance recently despite once improving thanks to his rudimentary Occlumency skills, had left Kíli feeling quite drained. It must be the exhaustion that made Kíli absentmindedly pull the Marauder’s map out of his school bag.

“Wow, what on earth is that?” Justin’s surprised voice made Kíli realise how careless he was. What had been done had been done and Kíli had no choice but to show the map to Justin.

“This is a map that supposedly shows you everyone inside the castle,” Kíli explained. “I’m not sure how accurate it is though. I once saw someone simply disappear from the map. It must have malfunctioned.”

“Why do you think it’s the map’s fault?” Justin bent over to inspect the map with interest. “Maybe someone has just disappeared from the castle.”

“But that’s not possible,” Kíli said with confidence. He was, after all, more educated in the matter of the magic of Hogwarts thanks to Fíli. “Nobody can Apparate in and out of Hogwarts. The map tracks secret passageways in and out of the castle too so they can’t just disappear into those secret passageways without being detected.”

Contrary to what Kíli had expected, Justin did not look as if some truth had just dawned on him. Instead, he still looked sceptical. “I know wizards can’t Apparate in and out of Hogwarts but House Elves can. The map tracks House Elves, doesn’t it?”

Kíli stared at Justin. He had, of course, noticed that the map tracked not only witches and wizards but also other magical beings such as House Elves and even ghosts. He had never, however, even considered the possibility of them performing magic that wizards were incapable of. “Are you sure? I mean, how can the House Elves do something that wizards can’t do?”

Justin shrugged. “I have no idea what the theory is behind all this but I know what I’ve seen. House Elves can just snap their fingers and disappear right in front of you. They don’t do it in front of wizards, of course, but I caught a glimpse of a House Elves doing that when he was cleaning the Hufflepuff Common Room one day. I didn’t even know they existed until that day. I think the only reason why I saw them is that I wasn’t supposed to be in the Common Room that day. I fell ill during Quenya class, you see.”

Now that he came to think of it, Kíli supposed it made sense. There were more than 100 House Elves in Hogwarts, cooking, cleaning, and doing chores yet Kíli, or anyone he knew, rarely saw them unless they ventured into the kitchen. The House Elves must have a way of disappearing whenever needed to make themselves virtually invisible to wizards. “But how come nobody’s told me! Surely Fíli and Ori would know something like this.”

“I’m not sure they do,” said Justin with a frown. “Most of the wizards barely consider House Elves as sentient beings. To them, House Elves are just objects that serve their purpose. So naturally, they won’t think that House Elves might possess magic they know not of. Bain was flabbergasted when I told him about that House Elf disappearing in front of me. We spent a whole week wandering the castle before we saw another House Elf disappear with our own eyes. That’s when Bain believed me. I reckon Fíli and Ori are the same.”

Could this be true? Were the wizards so biased that they would make the critical mistake of underestimating a whole species that they had created just to be their slaves? Despite all the trouble it might entail, this realisation somehow felt like just revenge to Kíli. Wizards deserved to be punished for the atrocity they had committed when they had enslaved an entire species. Armed with this knowledge, however, Kíli realised that he needed to look at all his previous investigation with new eyes. “Thank you so much, Justin! This is really helpful. Would you mind not telling the secret of the map to anyone though? It’s not exactly allowed in Hogwarts.”

Justin laughed. “Something the evil twins got you? Sure. I won’t say a word.”

“Thanks a bunch! I owe you.” Kíli said with a relieved sigh. “I’ve got to run.”

Smiling, Justin nodded. “See you later, Kíli! And good luck!”

\------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Once Kíli was inside his dormitory, which was thankfully empty, he rushed to his bedside to rummage through all his books and parchment, hoping to find the notes that Gimli took when they discussed Ori’s attack. When he couldn’t find it, Kíli hastily fished the Marauder’s map out of his pocket. Staring at the map, Kíli thought he had an inkling which House Elf might be responsible for all the inexplicable incidents in and out of the Hogwarts castle this year.

A quick scan told Kíli that Bloody was nowhere to be seen inside the castle. Thinking that the House Elf must have left the castle to do some undoubtedly dodgy work, Kíli picked up his wand to clear the map. Just before his wand tip touched the map, however, he saw a little dot with Fíli’s name on it moving to the Forbidden Forest together with Bilbo. It was time for Fíli’s detention again.

Kíli had no idea what possessed him but he rushed out of his dormitory with the map still in his hand. Somehow he knew that something was about to happen to Fíli in the Forest, which was filled with dangerous animals and plants. It would be too easy to make any attack look like an accident.

By the time Kíli had reached the edge of the Forbidden Forest, however, it was already deserted. Panting and clutching his sides, Kíli leaned against a tall beech tree to catch his breath. The Forest sounded eerily quiet, which made Kíli’s heartbeat even faster. Once he could breathe again, Kíli cast a quick “Lumos” so he could see the map more clearly in the fading light. It took him a while but he eventually located Fíli and Bilbo, who were deep inside the Forest already. Resigned to his fate, Kíli started walking towards the location, his eyes switching between the Forest and the map, trying his best not to trip over the overgrown plants and trees. This was proving harder and harder, as the vegetation grew thicker the deeper Kíli went, not just under his feet but also above his head. The sky was barely visible through the layers of leaves and branches, making it not only more difficult to walk but also darker and thus harder to see.

“Ouch,” Kíli cried when he stepped on something slimy and planted almost face forward into a tree trunk. Massaging his nose gingerly, Kíli had to sit down to gather his bearings. He checked the map again and was dismayed to find that Fíli and Bilbo were no longer in the location that they were previously. Instead, Kíli spotted the little dot of the single letter G on the map. By the look of it, the strange creature that Kíli once saw on the edge of the Forbidden Forest was now going crazy as the little dot was moving frantically around the area.

When Kíli finally got there, he was not prepared for what greeted him. That little creature was as dirty and ugly as ever but this time, it was simply beside itself. Going manically in circles and tugging its few remaining hairs, it was wailing at the top of its voice.

“Are you alright?” asked Kíli tentatively. The creature looked so pathetic that he could not help but ask despite his preoccupation.

“My preciouses! Where is my preciouses?” The creature howled even louder. When his eyes fixed on Kíli, however, they were filled with resentment and malice. Baring his sharp black teeth, it lunged towards Kíli with his fingers stretched wide, ready to grab something, possibly Kíli’s neck. “Did you steal my preciouses?”

Shocked by the creature’s sudden aggression towards him, Kíli took a step back, narrowly avoiding its dirty fingernails, and stuttered, “Wh.. what? No! I only just got here!”

“Someone stole my preciouses.” The creature mumbled and turned his back on Kíli as he resumed his frantic pacing and searching. Kíli hesitated. He knew that there was little he could do but he felt somewhat bad for leaving the poor creature on its own when it clearly was not in its right mind. Was it the responsibility of the school? Did it fall under Dáin’s care? As much as Kíli would like to stay and help, he had more pressing matters at hand. Another glance at the map almost made his heart stop.

On the map, Kíli managed to identify the dots of Fíli and Bilbo, not too far from where he was. The problem was, the dot of Bloody was also close by. Even though Kíli had no idea what Bloody was planning to do inside the Forest, he knew it could not be anything good. Folding the map and stuffing it back into his pocket, Kíli ran towards Fíli and Professor Bilbo’s location as fast as he could, hoping against hope that he would not be too late.

If Kíli had any doubts about his ability to navigate inside the Forest to where Fíli and Professor Bilbo were, it was completely alleviated when the terrified screams of Fíli shot through the air like an arrow directly at Kíli’s heart. Forgetting all precaution, Kíli yelled at the top of his lungs, “Fíli!” while running madly towards the source of the noise.

The source of Fíli’s horror was soon revealed to Kíli when he came into the clearing. Standing at more than twice the height of an Elf, the Acromantula was something that Kíli had never imagined that he would encounter in real life. Its eight black eyes, thick black hair, long legs that must be at least 15 feet long, and menacingly sharp pincers that were clicking excitedly all made the Acromantula the most terrifying and vile creature Kíli had ever seen, surpassing even the Blast-Ended Skrewts. The spells that Bilbo kept casting seemed to have no effect on it whatsoever as it advanced steadily on the quivering duo. What was more, Kíli could Sense the almost debilitatingly dark magic of the Acromantula. A glance into the distance told him that the smaller Acromantulas were coming to the feast. The situation was indeed dire.

“Fíli!” Kíli cried for his friend as he ran into the clearing. He had to get Fíli out of danger. “We need to go! Come this way with me!”

“Kíli?” Fíli’s eyes were wide as saucers. “What are you doing here?”

“Saving your sorry arse, you idiot!” Kíli reckoned he could be a little bit more patient under normal circumstances but now was hardly time for manners. “Come on! Let’s go!”

“I can’t leave Professor Bilbo!” Despite his trembling voice, Fíli remained resolutely still on the spot. His eyes wide and his face deadly pale, Fíli grabbed his wand convulsively and raised it shakily at the Acromantula but no spell came out. What could they cast that would work when Bilbo could not so much as repel the Acromantula?

“Professor!” Kíli ran towards the little Hobbit professor. “We need to go. We can go back the way I came. There’s no Acromantula there, not now anyway.”

After shooting another red light at the Acromantula to no avail, Bilbo turned to spare a quick look at Kíli. Sweat covered his face and Kíli could see the terror in his eyes. “You take Fíli and go. I’ll stay and hold them off.”

“No!” Fíli sounded aghast at the suggestion. “We can’t leave you here to die!”

“Don’t worry.” The sound from the Acromantula made Kíli’s heart stop. Apparently, Dáin did not lie in his classes when he said that Acromantulas were capable of human speech. “You will die here with the little Hobbit. My offspring will have a nice meal indeed, thanks to the little Elf.”

Despite the precarious situation they were in, Kíli could not help but glance down at the map that he hastily fished out, almost ripping it in half. Sure enough, Bloody’s name could be seen just a little behind the Acromantula. Looking up to scan the area, Kíli thought that he had spotted the dirty rags before it disappeared with a faint “Pop”. Somehow Kíli had a pretty good idea where the House Elf might have Apparated to. His suspicion was confirmed when he saw the little dot of Bloody appear inside the Slytherin Common Room next to the dot of Bolg.

“Go!” Bilbo bellowed most uncharacteristically. “I can take care of myself. You two being here will only distract me. Go! If you see anything, try Stupefy or Impedimenta. Go, both of you, now!”

Kíli did not need telling twice. Even though he had never heard of those two spells, he figured their chances of survival would be greater away from the Acromantula. He now wished that he had continued with the duelling training with Dwalin, for surely that would be more helpful in a situation like this than say Khuzdûl translations. Dragging a struggling Fíli, Kíli started running away from the Acromantula as fast as possible.

“We need to go back and help Professor Bilbo!” Fíli’s refusal to cooperate really was not helping.

“Look,” panted Kíli, “we can’t help Professor Bilbo in a situation like this. I don’t even know what Stupefy or Impedimenta is! But if we can find Professor Dáin, he may know how to deal with Acromantulas!”

This proposal had finally calmed Fíli down. Nodding, he asked eagerly, “But how can we find him?”

“Here.” Kíli waved the map. “Let’s check on the map but for heaven’s sake, keep moving. I can Sense more of those beasts coming.”

Fíli snatched the map from Kíli’s hand. “I’ll check the map and you lead the way. I trust your Sense can get us out of this.”

It sounded reasonable enough so Kíli started tracing his way while keeping all his senses sharp. Thanks to his Sense, he could hopefully find the safest way to get themselves out of this mess.

“We need to go west,” cried Fíli who was running behind him. “Professor Dáin is somewhere in that direction, not too far from here actually.”

“Right.” Kíli looked around, trying to discern his surroundings and the direction. Fíli beat him to it.

“Point me!” With that spell, Fíli’s wand quickly turned in his hand and pointed north. “We need to head to the right.”

Kíli closed his eyes and let his Sense feel the magic around him. The dark power of the Acromantula was coming from behind and slightly to the left. He could not Sense anything on their right. “Okay, let’s go!”

Running through the woods was getting harder as the sun was setting and visibility was significantly reduced. Kíli simply could not imagine what would happen if Bilbo was left in total darkness with possibly a whole colony of Acromantulas. Going as fast as he could with his wand out, Kíli kept his Sense alert for any possible Acromantulas. Fortunately, they seemed to be running away from those ghastly creatures, as the dark heavy weight on him was lifting.

“Professor Dáin!” Fíli’s relieved cry made Kíli look around. He was so absorbed in his Sense that he almost missed Dáin.

“Evening, lads.” How Dáin could smile so broadly at their dishevelled state was beyond Kíli. Then again, Dáin had been known to battle monstrous creatures all his life so perhaps he thought this was perfectly normal. “I didn’t expect to…”

“Professor Bilbo!” panted Fíli, who nearly collapsed next to a tree. Holding on to the trunk for dear life, Fíli gasped for breath from all this running.

“Professor Bilbo was attacked by Acromantulas!” Kíli finished Fíli’s sentence for him. “You need to go and help him!”

“Aragog attacked Professor Bilbo?” Dáin nearly tripped over the edge of his overcoat. “But Aragog never attacks anyone!”

It spoke volumes about the urgency of the situation when Kíli did not even question how on earth Dáin got to know the name of the blasted Acromantula. “He’s very much attacking Professor Bilbo and unless you get to him now, Professor Bilbo will be dead!”

“Right.” Dáin pulled his wand out and strode across the clearing. “Where are they?”

Kíli hastily grabbed the map from Fíli’s hand and opened it. To his utter horror, he could no longer see Professor Bilbo on it! A second scan confirmed that he did not just miss the Hobbit professor. He had disappeared from the map! Kíli refused to contemplate what that could possibly entail. “He was here when we last saw him.” He pointed to the map to show Dáin the location. “They might have moved though. Shall I go with you to…”

“No.” Dáin shook his head. “I can take care of this. Go back to the castle now and inform Thorin and Dwalin just in case.”

Kíli nodded. Dragging Fíli up to his feet, Kíli took off again. He felt that he had done enough running to last him a lifetime but he simply could not stop now. The sooner he could bring reinforcement, the better the chance of finding Bilbo in one piece, hopefully outside the Acromatula’s stomach. Next to him, Fíli was panting heavily. The sturdier build of Dwarves, a great advantage when it comes to hitting a Bludger, was doing him no favour on this particular occasion.

“We’re almost there!” Kíli gasped as they ran across the Hogwarts ground. The sun had gone down completely, which made the ground eerily dark. All he wanted was to get inside the castle.

“Just one moment.” Fíli panted as he almost collapsed to the ground. Kíli stopped himself and took several deep breaths. He never felt so grateful for his Muggle upbringing. All the chores inside the orphanage and the running around meant that his endurance was better than most of his magical peers. Unfolding the Marauders map, Kíli was relieved to find that Dwalin was patrolling the ground floor.

“Professor Dwalin!” Kíli practically crashed into Dwalin right outside the Great Hall. “Thank God!”

“Kíli, Fíli?” Dwalin looked astonished at the appearance of the breathless duo. “What’s the matter? Did yeh just come into the castle? Where have yeh been?”

“Professor Bilbo’s in danger!” Fíli ignored all of Dwalin’s questions. “Forbidden Forest, Acromantulas!”

Dwalin’s face paled and he took out his wand immediately. “Where in the Forest?”

Kíli pointed to the map at where they last saw Bilbo. To his great relief and bewilderment, Bilbo had re-appeared in the map, fighting alongside Dáin. Yet Kíli was sure he did not see Bilbo anywhere near that spot earlier. How did that happen?

He had no time to contemplate the matter, however, for Dwalin had just opened the front gate. “I’m going to the Forest. Go and find Thorin. We may need his help. Oh, find the Headmaster too. He needs to be informed.”

Now that he had located Bilbo on the map, Kíli felt slightly more at ease. With Dwalin joining them soon, surely they could contain the Acromantulas! Still, he wasted no time in going to the dungeons to find Thorin.

“What in the name of Mahal…” Thorin’s eyes went wide when he saw Kíli and Fíli at his door. “It’s almost curfew!”

“Professor Bilbo has just been attacked in the Forbidden Forest by some Acromantulas. Professor Dáin and Professor Dwalin have gone to help him but they insist that you should be informed.” Kíli explained the situation as succinctly as he could. Time was of the essence after all.

To Kíli’s surprise, Thorin did not act on the information immediately. Instead, he waved them into his office. Before either of them could ask why Thorin was not rushing into the Forest, a silvery bear appeared in the room before it ran through the window into the air. Next to him, Fíli gasped.

“What is…” Kíli’s question was interrupted by another silver animal, this time a tiger, coming into the room. As if that was not strange enough, the tiger opened its mouth to speak and the voice of Dwalin came out. “I just talked to Dáin. They have the situation more or less under control. I’m almost there and will check on them.”

Thorin let out a sigh of relief as he sat down behind his desk and started rummaging inside his desk drawer. Kíli turned to look at Fíli. Sensing the millions of questions that Kíli had, Fíli spoke softly, “That was a Patronus. Uncle has sent one to Professor Dwalin and he just responded, thank Mahal! Wizards use Patronuses to send urgent messages.”

“What is a Patronus?”

“Ah, right.” Fíli threw himself onto the sofa. The events of the night had worn him out. “It’s very advanced magic. It basically acts as a shield against Dementors.” When he saw the even more puzzled look on Kíli’s face, Fíli added quickly, “Dementors are guards of Azkaban, the wizarding prison. They’re horrible creatures that can suck the happiness out of you and leave you with nothing but the most miserable experiences of your life. You either go mad or lose your will to live after you’ve been exposed to the influence of a Dementor for a while. That’s why no prisoners have ever escaped Azkaban. The only way to defend oneself against them is to create a Patronus. It takes the form of an animal and is unique to each wizard.”

“That’s so cool!” Kíli was momentarily distracted by this new form of magic. “Can I learn the spell so I can find out what animal my Patronus is? Besides, it’ll be handy to send messages this way.”

Fíli smiled weakly, “Most adult wizards struggle with a Patronus, let alone using it to pass on messages. They don’t even teach it to N.E.W.T. students here.”

“That is correct.” Thorin had just risen from his seat. “I have just informed the Headmaster of tonight’s events. He will be here momentarily. Now, why don’t you fill us in on exactly what has happened?”


	14. Chapter 14

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> All the pieces of the puzzle fell into place. But would justice be done?

Before Gandalf arrived at Thorin’s office, another message was delivered by Dwalin’s tiger, assuring them that Bilbo and Dáin were safe while the Acromantulas were contained.

“We’re on our way to yer office.” Even though Kíli had seen it once already, it was still bizarre to see a silvery tiger speak in Dwalin’s gruff voice. Thorin and Fíli, on the other hand, did not seem fazed by it at all.

“We should wait until everyone gets here to discuss what has happened.” Fíli had finally recovered from the physical and mental exertion of the night.

So they waited. Soon after Gandalf’s arrival, the knock on the door made them all rush to the door. On the other side of the door stood Dwalin, Dáin, and an unkempt but otherwise unharmed Bilbo.

“Professor Bilbo!” Kíli and Fíli exclaimed at the same time. The relief in their voices was palpable. Fíli, in particular, was very emotional as he ran to the little Hobbit professor just to ensure that he was completely unharmed.

“Thank you, Fíli. I’m alright.” Bilbo said with a tired smile. Finally satisfied with his inspection, Fíli stepped aside to let Bilbo into the room so he could settle on the sofa before hurrying to make him a nice cup of tea. Dwalin, on the other hand, went straight for Kíli. “Are ya alright, laddie? Hurt anywhere?”

It was neither the right place nor the right time but Kíli wanted nothing more than to throw himself into Dwalin’s broad chest. He did, however, offer his Defence Against the Dark Arts professor a small smile. “I’m fine, sir. The Acromantula didn’t get me.”

“Now that we’re all here,” said Thorin as everyone filed into his office, “perhaps you can enlighten us on exactly how this whole mess started.”

Bilbo accepted the tea from Fíli with a grateful smile. After a long sip, he started recounting his story. “I took Fíli into the Forbidden Forest to collect some herbs as part of his detention, as per usual. There was no indication that any animals were particularly restless and it’s not the full moon today. When we arrived at the clearing, the sky was still bright so we started working. Nothing unusual happened until we heard the noise of quick movements. When we looked around, we saw the Acromantula.” He turned to Dáin. “What’s its name again?”

“Aragog,” Dáin replied in a passionate voice. “This is not his fault! Aragog said that some House Elf egged him on. He wouldn’t have done it otherwise.” He looked pleadingly at Gandalf and Thorin. “He’s promised me not to attack any Hogwarts staff and students.”

Personally, Kíli thought that this Aragog needed little instigation from anyone to attack them but this had proved his suspicion. Bloody was behind it after all.

“What are you talking about?” Thorin looked half exasperated, half surprised. “A Hogwarts House Elf trying to hurt a Hogwarts professor and student? You know they aren’t magically allowed to do that! Besides, I take it you didn’t apprehend the House Elf.”

“That’s because Bloody is not a Hogwarts House Elf.” Every pair of eyes turned to Kíli, making him slightly nervous. Taking a deep breath, he continued, “We’ve seen Bloody before and he certainly wasn’t wearing the usual Hogwarts House Elf uniform. At first, I thought it was because it was so filthy and ragged that we couldn’t recognise it but now it makes sense. Bloody belongs to someone else.”

The frown in Thorin’s face deepened with each sentence Kíli had uttered. “First of all, how can you be certain that this Bloody is the one responsible? Second of all, how did you even know to go to the Forbidden Forest in the first place? Lastly, how can a non-Hogwarts House Elf get into the school ground?”

Kíli hesitated. He knew that Thorin, for whatever reason, most likely knew the existence of the map because who else would ask the evil twins to monitor Azog’s activities during Christmas. Nobody else seemed to know about the map and Kíli would very much like to keep it that way so he could keep and use the map himself. Yet he could not see any other way around it, as it was crucial for his discovery and probably more so as evidence against Bloody and Bolg. Accepting defeat, he retrieved the map from his robe and opened it. With a tap of his wand, the whole school with all its occupants manifested themselves in front of everyone.

“Blimey,” Dwalin cried softly, “this is some serious piece of magic.”

“It is.” Kíli nodded. It took him less than a minute to find Bolg inside his dormitory but Bloody was nowhere near him. No matter how hard he looked, Kíli could not find Bloody anywhere but he supposed that Bolg must have asked the House Elf to leave the castle. “I found Fíli on the map earlier today, going to the Forbidden Forest and I went to follow him to make sure that he was alright.”

“But how do you know he’ll be in danger?” Thorin still didn’t look convinced. “Please don’t tell me that you possess the Sight too.”

“What?” Kíli had no idea what Thorin was talking about.

“So I guess that is a no. Then how?”

“I just realised that Bloody is not a Hogwarts House Elf and I suspected that he belongs to Bolg and has been helping him do all his dirty work. All the attacks and thefts can be attributed to him! So I just needed to make sure that Fíli’s alright.” Kíli explained.

“But other House Elves can’t get into Hogwarts. We have wards and spells to prevent others from entering the school.”

Kíli took a deep breath. What he was about to reveal would surely blow their mind. He was certain of it. “That is true but House Elves can Apparate in and out of Hogwarts even if no wizards can. That’s how Bloody has managed to get into the castle. That’s how he’s managed to take the Niffler into the castle to steal things and disappear with it once done. They have magic that wizards know not of.”

The silence that followed his proclamation was the longest Kíli had ever experienced in this company. Eventually, it was Dwalin who broke the silence. “How is that even possible? Surely the founders of Hogwarts had taken this into consideration.”

Kíli shrugged. “None of them probably thought the magic of House Elves were worth noticing. After all, they’re wizards’ slaves, aren’t they? Actually, it was Justin Finch-Fletchley, a Muggleborn, who told me this. He saw it happen with his own eyes and unlike the pureblood wizards, he doesn’t have any preconceived notions or prejudices against House Elves.”

Thorin and Dwalin exchanged a quick look. If the astonished looks on their faces were anything to go by, Kíli had a pretty good idea about what was going through their minds. He could not say that he found their reaction to this piece of information unexpected. Both of them had lived a, though sometimes difficult, privileged life. Their fierce pride in their identity and people could almost mount to arrogance as they regarded other races as inherently flawed. In their minds, House Elves existed only to serve them and nothing more. The fact that they possessed magic they knew not of was nothing short of heresy.

“Please continue your tale, Kíli.” Gandalf gave Kíli an encouraging smile. Compared to the Dwarves, he had recovered much faster and seemed to take this piece of information with much ease. “What did you see when you were in the Forbidden Forest?”

“Well, nothing at first,” Kíli hesitated. “I mean, okay, I did see a strange creature that is too thin for a Hobbit but too big for a House Elf on the edge of the forest, looking for its preciouses.”

“His what?” Dwalin asked in confusion. Kíli could hardly blame him. No one in the room seemed to know what kind of creature he was describing, not even Dáin. Bilbo even sat up a bit straighter in his chair, no doubt intrigued by this creature. “He calls it his preciouses. I think he has lost something important and, as a result, lost his mind too. But anyway, he’s not involved in this.”

“Are you sure?” Thorin was not about to take any chances. “What if he was the one responsible?”

“I’m sure. He was quite mad and was going in circles looking for his lost preciouses. He did not even notice me leaving. But more importantly, I found Fíli and Professor Bilbo on the map and they were deep inside the Forest and Bloody’s dot was close by. He was where Aragog was so surely it was him who did it. I didn’t know that at the time of course. Even so, his presence made me very uneasy. So I headed straight for Fíli and Professor Bilbo.”

“So you’re certain that this Bloody was in the Forest according to the map. Didn’t you run into him or anything else on your way there?”

Kíli nodded with confidence. “I’m absolutely sure that I saw Bloody on the map. I didn’t run into anyone else in the Forest until I saw Fíli and Professor Bilbo. It was surprisingly quiet. My Sense did not pick up anything either.”

Thorin cursed under his breath but Gandalf motioned Kíli to continue. “The first thing I saw was the Acromantula, standing in front of Professor Bilbo and Fíli,” he shuddered when he recalled the nightmarish scene, “ready to attack.”

“Aragog was prov…” Dáin’s protest was interrupted by Thorin. “Yes, we know how you feel about that blasted Acromantula. Thank you very much.” He turned to Kíli, “What did you do then?”

Kíli thought Thorin’s question was ridiculous. What else could he have done? “I ran to help them, of course! But I knew we were in trouble because Professor Bilbo’s spells weren’t working. Professor Bilbo told us to run but Fíli refused to go. I could also Sense other Acromantulas coming our way so we needed to get out of there. I thought with the map, we could find Professor Dáin to get some help since we surely could not fight off those Acromantulas.” Kíli could not help the defensive tone of his response. Even hearing it now, he felt as if he had picked the cowardly way out while leaving Bilbo to his death. Yet the only thing on his mind back then was to get Fíli back to safety.

Perhaps sensing Kíli’s thoughts, Gandalf said in a gentle voice, “You’ve done the right thing, Kíli. If you had stayed, you would have died, along with Fíli and Professor Bilbo. By leaving to get help, you have not only saved your lives but also Professor Bilbo’s.”

Smiling gratefully at Gandalf, Kíli felt encouraged to continue his story. “When Fíli was arguing with Professor Bilbo on whether we should leave or not, Aragog taunted us and basically told us that some little Elf told it to go after us.” Dáin’s excitement was soon squashed firmly by Thorin who gave him a stern look. “That was when I saw Bloody hiding in the bushes behind Aragog. He disapparated when he saw me. I think I heard a pop but it was hard to say since it was quite noisy with Aragog clicking its pincers.”

“Yeh are sure it was Bloody?” asked Dwalin just to confirm.

“I’m sure. I’d recognise his rags anywhere. Besides, his name was the only one I saw on the map in the Forest apart from ours. It has to be him.”

“So he disapparated before you left for safety?” Once Kíli confirmed this, he could see Thorin exchanging a meaningful look with Dwalin and Gandalf. Unless Kíli was much mistaken, they were planning something.

“Did you go straight to Professor Dáin after that?”

Kíli nodded. “We used the map to find him and I used my Sense to avoid the Acromantulas. It didn’t take us that long to find him. Once we did, we told him what had happened and he went to help Professor Bilbo.” He gave Bilbo a quick look and paused. Was he supposed to tell them that Bilbo disappeared from the map too? Surely the Hobbit professor was not doing anything illicit.

“I went to the clearing Kíli indicated and didn’t see Professor Bilbo.” Dáin continued with his part of the story. “I did see Aragog and his offsprings though and they were very agitated. I managed to talk to him briefly to confirm what had happened. He told me pretty much what Kíli had guessed. A little House Elf came to his dwelling to lure him out with the promise of a fresh meal. The little House Elf told him that the two in the Forest tonight,” he nodded at Bilbo and Fíli, “were trying to steal precious herbs from the Forest before running away because they were expelled from the school. Aragog has long reached an agreement with me not to harm anyone from the school. So he thought Professor Bilbo and Fíli were fair game. I told him that they were not expelled or running away. It took some time but eventually, I convinced him to take his offspring back. That was when Professor Bilbo appeared.”

“I was hiding at the top of the tree.” Bilbo looked calm but Kíli could spot his hand subconsciously going to his pocket. He frowned. What was Bilbo hiding and why was he lying? Surely he was not there because he would otherwise show on the map. He held his tongue, however. Professor Bilbo had been through enough tonight.

It seemed he was not the only one noticing the strange behaviour of the Herbology professor. The look Gandalf gave Bilbo was sharp. Yet he remained silent just like Kíli while Bilbo told his tale. “They didn’t realise it and I was able to keep myself hidden until Professor Dáin arrived. Once the Acromantulas agreed to go, I got down from the tree. That was the end of it really.”

“I see,” said Gandalf slowly. He turned to Kíli, “Do you happen to know where Bloody went after he disapparated?”

“Yes!” Kíli answered eagerly. “I checked the map and found him in the Slytherin Common Room next to Bolg. He must be telling his master what had happened. I can’t find him on the map now though. Bolg must have told him to go home so we can’t find him.”

For reasons beyond Kíli, both Thorin and Gandalf seemed pleased with his answer. Exchanging a quick look with Thorin, Dwalin nodded and turned to Kíli. “Could yeh check the map to see where Bolg and Azog are?”

“Azog?”

“He arrived earlier tonight,” Thorin said darkly. “Saying that he wanted to be here for the O.W.L.s and N.E.W.T.s since it’s his first year as a member of the board of governors. Now I think we know why he has decided to grace us with his presence.”

That made perfect sense. Of course, Azog would not lose the opportunity to witness the fruit of his scheming. A glance at the map told him that both Bolg and Azog were at the visitor’s chamber reserved for visiting board members and Ministry officials.

“Excellent.” Gandalf stroked his long silvery beard before rising from his seat. “Professor Dwalin, please escort Kíli, Fíli, and Professor Bilbo to your office. It is key that they remain hidden so Azog and Bolg do not know they have survived. Professor Dáin, it shall be down to you to somehow let Azog know that there has been an accident in the Forest without actually informing him.”

“No problem,” said Dáin as he practically jumped up from his seat. “I should have no problem making a ruckus with this little fella.” To Kíli’s utter surprise, Dáin pulled out a plumed, two-legged serpentine-bodied creature with wings. It clearly did not appreciate Dáin’s way of handling it, as it was struggling violently against Dáin’s grip while shrinking and expanding like mad, trying to escape.

“An Occamy!” Dáin announced proudly at the flabbergasted look on everyone’s face. “I got it when I went to India two years ago. Such a fascinating place with so many lovely creatures. Anyway, I took a couple home in my suitcases so I can start a colony in Hogwarts. As you can see, it doesn’t like wizards and will escape at the earliest opportunity. If I set it loose close to Azog’s quarter, it will surely sneak into his room, wreaking havoc. That will be my perfect excuse. It might even attack Azog and solve our problem for us.”

It was hard to say what was more astonishing, the fact that Dáin had smuggled some highly aggressive and dangerous magical creatures all the way from India to breed them inside Hogwarts or that he had taken to carry it around inside his robe! The professors looked more exasperated than surprised. They must have become used to Dáin’s crazy behaviour.

“Very well,” sighed Gandalf. “I think this should work. Professor Dwalin?”

“Yes, sir.” Dwalin grabbed Kíli’s arm firmly but gently and led him towards the door. “Keep yer map open and check for anyone in the corridor. My office is not far but I don’t wanna take any risks.”

“What’s Professor Gandalf and Professor Thorin’s plan?” Kíli asked in a whisper. Dwalin shook his head. “Not now, Kíli. I’ll tell yeh once we’re in my office.”

Fortunately, they did not run into anyone on their way. Once securely inside Dwalin’s office, Kíli piped up, “What’s Professor Gandalf and Professor Thorin going to do?”

It was Fíli, however, who answered. “They’re going to question Azog, who only knows that we were under attack. If he thinks his plan has succeeded, he might get complacent and arrogant and let something slip.”

That made sense, except that it seemed ridiculously convoluted to Kíli. “Why can’t they just go and confront Azog? We have all the proof we need.”

Dwalin shook his head. “Nah, we don’t, laddie. Yer map only shows those in Hogwarts at the moment, doesn’t it? It has no way of showing who was on the map before. How can we even prove that this Bloody has ever been to Hogwarts?”

“But I saw him!” Kíli could hardly contain himself. “Fíli and I, we both did!”

“I never saw Bloody do anything wrong though,” Fíli said in a quiet voice. “I’ve only seen him in the castle but that’s hardly a crime. It’s really just your word.”

“But…”

“Fíli’s right,” Dwalin put a placating hand on Kíli’s shoulder. “We need more than just yer testimony if we want to make sure that Azog is convicted. Think about it, Kíli. This Bloody is not in the castle right now. We have no proof that he’s Azog’s House Elf at all, except speculation. The fact that he was on the map next to Bolg is not enough. Yeh did not see him talking to Bolg. Besides, he could have talked to other people too. The only way to prove that he’s Azog’s House Elf is to go to Azog’s House, search for the House Elf, bring him to Hogwarts and have yeh and Aragog confirm that it was him! But we can’t break into Azog’s house without a proper warrant. We need more evidence to link this crime to Azog and we’re hoping he will give us some in his excitement.”

Never had Kíli felt so helpless. The fact that he knew exactly who the culprit was only made it worse. It was only now that he realised how clever Azog and Bolg were. By using a House Elf, they had managed to bypass all the restrictions set by the magic of the castle without having to do any of the dirty work themselves.

“I’m sorry, laddie.” Dwalin looked it too. “But we can’t simply charge someone with such a serious crime without enough evidentiary support. Azog will always be innocent until we’ve proven, beyond a reasonable doubt, that he’s guilty.”

“He won’t get away with it.” Bilbo patted Kíli’s back encouragingly. He still looked pale but much less nervous now. “The evil never triumphs. We need to trust Professor Gandalf and Thorin. They know what they’re doing.”

So they waited. Despite the lateness of the night, Kíli felt wide awake as adrenaline coursed through his veins. None of the other occupants seemed that tired either. Dwalin kept pacing in his room while Bilbo busied himself with making tea for everyone. Fíli, on the other hand, came to sit next to Kíli after much hesitation.

“I’m sorry,” said Fíli in a small voice.

“What for?” Kíli was slightly confused. What had happened this evening was not remotely Fíli’s fault.

Fíli looked pained but he continued anyway. “For being such a petulant arse in the last month or so. I’ve got no right to be upset at you yet I…” He sighed in frustration, “I’m not trying to find an excuse for my behaviours but I feel that I’ve lost myself a bit this year. With the extra work and Quidditch, I’ve forgotten what’s truly important. I should never put those stupid things above our friendship. You are and always will be more important than that. I’m so sorry. Can you forgive me?”

Kíli’s eyes widened. He had never thought the usually more reserved Fíli would speak out loud about what had been plaguing them this whole year. Even more impressive was the fact that Fíli was taking full responsibility for what had happened. How could Kíli not forgive him? Without another word, Kíli opened his arms and engulfed Fíli in a tight embrace.

“Thank you,” muttered Fíli into Kíli’s shoulder.

“I’m sorry too,” Kíli said in a serious tone after he had released Fíli. “I should have done better myself.”

“But it’s not…”

“It’s not all your fault, Fíli. Friendship is a two-way street and we are both part of it. It takes two to tango, doesn’t it?”

“It takes two to what?”

“Oh, never mind,” laughed Kíli. He was so used to Fíli being all knowledgeable and wise that he found the confused look on Fíli’s face rather endearing. “It’s a Muggle saying. But the point is, I should have done my part. I think I’ve let my pride and insecurity get in the way of our friendship too. I should have told you how I’m feeling right at the beginning.”

Fíli gave him a faint smile. “I’m not sure if I would have listened. I was being a right git, much more so than you ever did. And it only takes you saving my skin for me to realise it.”

“It doesn’t matter now.” Kíli beamed back. “We’re alive and unharmed and that’s all that matters. Let’s put this behind us and move forward. I wonder how your uncle’s plan is working out so far.”

Fíli frowned. “I don’t know but I hope it’s going okay. Azog might be arrogant but he’s not stupid. He wouldn’t have escaped justice otherwise.”

That was indeed true. Kíli had difficulty imagining how a cunning Death Eater like Azog would be so easily tricked, especially since he had planned everything so cleverly. Come to think of it, maybe some of their previous incidents could be explained now that they knew Bloody’s existence.

“Bolg’s petrification!” Kíli’s exclamation left Fíli bewildered, along with Dwalin and Bilbo, whose attention was drawn.

“What are you…”

“It must be Bloody!” Kíli could not stop himself as if suddenly dawned on him. “Remember how we couldn’t figure out how Bolg was petrified last year? It couldn’t have been the Basilisk because it wasn’t complete petrification. We thought it was some kind of dark object but did not know how it got inside Hogwarts. What if it is…”

“Bloody the House Elf.” Fíli’s mouth was hanging open. “Blimey, that makes sense. He could Apparate inside Hogwarts with anything without triggering any of the protective spells.”

“Exactly!” Kíli slammed his fist down on the table. “Azog is a Death Eater. Of course, he’d have a dark object like that. It’s also a lot less risky than a Basilisk because you can control an inanimate object much better. That’s how he’s been able to give himself an excuse to get inside Hogwarts and avoid suspicion! I bet it was Bloody who sneaked into Professor Thorin’s office last year too.”

“It can’t have been.” It was Dwalin who answered this time. “In addition to the ward that prevents others from entering, Thorin also has an alarm placed inside his room to alert him if any magical beings with near wizard-level magical power were inside his room for more than a minute when he wasn’t there. We all thought it was overkill because how could someone bypass Thorin’s ward and that’s why Thorin did not set the alarm to be triggered by just anything. Bloody might be able to enter Thorin’s office undetected but he certainly couldn’t have stayed there undetected. That’s why he needed the Niffler. Thorin has modified his alarm after the incident of course but either way, it couldn’t have been Bloody.”

Feeling slightly disappointed, Kíli had to concede that Dwalin was right. He was not about to give up though. “Maybe he did not steal anything in Professor Thorin’s office then. But Bloody was definitely the one who put the Niffler there to do the work for him and…” he stopped for he just remembered something else. “We saw him the day my Snitch went crazy, remember? It must be him who cursed it!”

“Sweet Mahal,” Fíli cried incredulously, “you’re right. We did run into him before the match! Why didn’t we think of it before!”

It all started to make sense now. “There was the cursed Christmas present too!”

“What do you mean?”

“I think it’s Bloody who swapped the present I gave you with the cursed necklace! He could get into our dormitories without raising suspicions, can’t he? Everyone will just think he’s there to clean the castle. Come to think of it, maybe it’s the House Elves who deliver the presents after we go to bed. That makes perfect sense, doesn’t it? Why didn’t I think of it earlier?!”

To Kíli’s slight disappointment, instead of looking enlightened, Fíli shook his head slowly. “Maybe it makes sense but you can’t just accuse Bloody of something simply because he can. I mean, loads of people, including all the professors, can get into our Common Rooms. Yet it doesn’t mean they’ve done it.”

“Look,” said Kíli patiently, “I woke up in the middle of the night on Christmas Eve and went to get some food from the kitchen. On my way there, I bumped into Bloody! He was out and about that night. All the other House Elves were down in the kitchen. It must be him who did it. He must have transformed the cursed necklace into my present while hiding mine away.”

Fíli was frowning so hard that his brows were threatening to form one line. “Are House Elves powerful enough to do that? It was some serious Transfiguration. How could something like a House Elf do magic like this?”

“Because House Elves are extremely powerful magical creatures.” It was Bilbo who answered this time. “It was just that their magic was bound by first their loyalty to their owners and then their ingrained desire to stay hidden. Few wizards, therefore, pay them any attention and take their forced servitude for granted. We Hobbits never like it and few own House Elves. The rest of the Wizarding world, unfortunately, share no such qualms.” He looked sideways at Fíli and Dwalin, both of whom at least had the decency to hang their heads sheepishly. “They could use and abuse their House Elves at will, forcing them to do whatever they wish while the poor House Elves have no choice but to follow their orders.”

Kíli could not agree with Bilbo more. He had always found the enslavement of House Elves very disturbing. The blasé attitude of the wizards towards the situation had done nothing to assuage Kíli’s unease. If anything, it had only made him even more uncomfortable. He wished he could do something about it but the biggest obstacles came from the House Elves themselves. The only two Kíli had met personally, Blinky and Bloody, had both seemed perfectly content in their masters’ employ, despite the apparent abuse from their masters like Bolg. He had tried to be extra civil and kind to any House Elf he had met but he was clearly in the minority. Even great and kind wizards like Dwalin and Fíli deemed House Elves inferior to them without even realising it. Now that they were all safe and sound, Kíli could almost feel sorry for Bloody. Even though he was the one who did all the dirty work, it was Bolg’s and Azog’s ideas after all and Bloody had no other choice but to obey. “I don’t know if I should even blame Bloody now, even though it was he who put the poison in Ori’s mug.”

“I don’t think it was him.” Fíli had finally recovered from the revelation. “Even though House Elves can Apparate in and out of Hogwarts, they can’t be invisible. We did not see Bloody that day. I don’t think I heard any Apparating noises either. He was not in the Three Broomsticks.”

Kíli tried hard to recall what happened that day and he had to agree that Fíli was probably right. Even with the chaos inside the tavern, Kíli did not remember seeing the House Elf anywhere. He could have remembered otherwise. So who was it then? Surely this was another attempt on Fíli’s life by Bolg. How many accomplices did the Half-Orc have in the school?

“Look!” Fíli’s exclamation drew Kíli’s attention to the map. On it, clearly visible was the dot of Bloody inside Azog’s quarter. This could only mean one thing.

“I think they’ve got him!” Dwalin stood up from his seat in excitement. “I can’t believe Azog fell for that. Well,” he rubbed his hands together, “I can’t wait to see Azog punished for all his horrendous crimes.”

So this was it, Kíli thought with an immense sense of relief. They had finally triumphed over Azog and his evil spawn of a son. Justice was finally done.


	15. Chapter 15

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Finding justice was never as easy as Kíli had hoped.

It took another half an hour for Thorin’s bear Patronus to appear in Dwalin’s office. The message it brought was succinct and to the point. “Need all of you in the Headmaster’s office, now.”

“Are we going to testify?” Kíli asked with badly concealed excitement. He had waited so long for this moment that he felt his sentiments were justified.

Dwalin nodded and rose from his seat. “It must be. Come on, let’s go.”

“Why do we need to go to Professor Gandalf’s office though?” Kíli asked purely out of curiosity as they made their way to the Headmaster’s office. Kíli had never been there but he imagined that it must be serious.

“I believe someone from the Ministry of Magic must be summoned to investigate the crime,” Bilbo replied. “It’s hardly surprising. This is a very serious incident, something the Headmaster has no jurisdiction over.”

This made Kíli pause. His only dealings with the Ministry of Magic had not been positive. In his opinion, they were far too easily influenced by Azog, who had many connections within the Ministry. If they had done their job back in his first year, Bolg would not be in Hogwarts in the first place. Would they be fair and just on this occasion?

“It will be fine,” Fíli said encouragingly. “We just need to present our case clearly. Now, why don’t you check on your map to see if you can find out who’s there already?”

Unfolding his map, Kíli examined it carefully. The Headmaster’s office, which was in the Headmaster Tower, was occupied by Gandalf, Thorin, Azog, Bolg, and Bloody and a dot with a name he had never seen before, Saruman White. “Who’s Saruman White?”

Dwalin turned around so fast that Bilbo, who was right after him, nearly crashed into him. Ignoring a blabbering Bilbo, Dwalin snatched the map from Kíli’s hand and stared. “Sweet Mahal! The Ministry of Magic himself?”

“The Ministry of Magic?” Kíli was astonished by the turn of the events. He thought that it would just be some officials from the Department of Magical Law enforcement like when he testified against Bolg in his first year. He had never imagined that the Ministry of Magic himself would be involved. Next to him, Fíli was frowning and biting his lips, looking equally surprised and uneasy.

Bilbo, once he had stopped apologising to Dwalin, was the one who did not look shocked by this. “That makes sense though, doesn’t it? I’m not trying to be arrogant but this attack involves two people, me, a Hogwarts professor, and more importantly, Fíli. Of course, the Ministry would deem it of greater importance.”

Even though Bilbo did not spell it out most likely because he was too nice to do so, the implication was clear. The life of Fíli, the pureblood heir of Thorin, was much more important than that of Kíli, a half-blood orphan. Kíli had long learnt to accept it and smiled reassuringly when Fíli cast him a guilty look. “I see. So how’s this Saruman White?”

“ _ Mister _ Saruman,” said Dwalin, not unkindly, “is a strong and powerful wizard, who is well-respected in the Wizarding community. He was instrumental in our victory of the Last Wizarding War and has been our Ministry of Magic since the end of it.”

“So he’s a fair and just wizard who strongly opposes the Dark Art?” asked Kíli hopefully.

Dwalin did not immediately answer. When he did speak, he spoke slowly, choosing his words carefully. “There’s no denying the Minister’s magical ability nor his contribution to the defeat of the Dark Lord. But he’s not without flaws. Rumour has it that he has a rather contentious relationship with the Headmaster. The reason behind it is not entirely known. There are speculations, of course, but neither has spoken about it. So don’t be surprised if the Headmaster acts standoffish during yer testimony. He just doesn’t want to prejudice the Minister’s judgment.”

Politics, Kíli thought, was something he would never understand. Maybe it was his upbringing but he had always thought that if you wanted something, you would go and get it rather than dance around it while watching how others act. Fíli, on the other hand, was no stranger to this, and he nodded solemnly. “We’ll do our part too.” He turned to Kíl.; “Whenever you are asked a question, always address it to the Minister. He’s the one who holds the power over the outcome of this.”

“Okay,” said Kíli with a shrug. This did not exactly assuage Fíli’s concerns but they had no time to lose. So they kept going down the corridor until they had reached the rather large and extremely ugly gargoyle.

“Smoking pipes,” Dwalin said in a loud voice. 

The gargoyle sprang to life and jumped aside as the wall behind it split into two. Hidden behind the wall was a spiralling staircase that Kíli assumed led to Gandalf’s office. Motioning them forward, Dwalin stepped on it last and the staircase started moving up, quite like an escalator, higher and higher. It must have taken them to the top of the tower until it finally stopped, leaving Kíli slightly dizzy, in front of a gleaming oak door. Dwalin stepped forward and rapped on the door with the griffin-shaped knocker.

“Enter.” Gandalf’s authoritative voice made the door open slowly in front of them. Kíli followed closely behind Fíli and nearly gasped as he entered into the majestic office.

Out of all the teachers’ offices that Kíli had visited, Gandalf’s was the most magnificent. It was a large circular room lined with bookshelves of ancient tomes and funny-looking instruments. One section of the wall was covered with paintings of what Kíli assumed were previous Hogwarts Headmasters and Headmistresses, as the background of all the portraits showed the very same room. Dwarves and Elves made up more than half of the portraits, which left Kíli wondering if there was ever a Muggleborn Headmaster. All of them were awake at this late hour. Some even left their portraits to go and visit the others so they could discuss what was going on. When they caught sight of Kíli, some smiled kindly at him, while others simply turned up their noses. 

In the middle of the room stood five wizards and a trembling House Elf. The only one Kíli did not recognise was a wizard with towering height and long white hair and beard. Despite the lateness of the hour, he was dressed impeccably in a dark navy robe with matching wizard hat and looked dignified to the point of haughtiness.

“Ah,” said Gandalf, who smiled at their arrival. “Welcome, my friends. Thank you for arriving so promptly. Now that we have everyone here, I believe we are ready to start. Tea, anyone?” With a wave of his hand, ten chairs appeared out of nowhere, including one for Bloody. “Please, do sit down and make yourself comfortable.”

“Thank you, Gandalf,” Saruman said pointedly as he sat down gracefully in the largest chair right in the middle of the room. If Gandalf thought Saruman was asserting his authority even within Hogwarts, he chose not to comment on it. Instead, he inclined his head respectfully and took the seat next to Saruman. “As Minister for Magic, I am informed of an incident of such heinous nature that I deem it my responsibility to preside over the matter to ensure that justice is done swiftly and fairly. Now,” he turned to Fíli and Bilbo, “I understand that you are the intended victims of this attack?”

Bilbo took the first stand and described what he remembered from that night’s event, followed soon by Fíli, who added some additional details, as well as what happened after Kíli came to the rescue. Both of their testimonies deviated very little from what they had recounted in Thorin’s office. Kíli, therefore, had his eyes trained on Bolg and Bloody. While the Half Orc’s face was filled with resentment and malice, Bloody’s eyes were wide with fear and he was trembling from head to toe. His reaction was so violent that Kíli almost felt sorry for him. It was obvious that it was not his wish to harm Fíli or Bilbo. All the blame lay with Bolg and Azog.

“Very well,” Saruman said calmly after Fíli had finished, “I can see that you two have been through a lot tonight. Please, take a seat. I promise that justice shall be done.” He then turned to Dáin. “Professor Dáin, would you mind giving us your version of the story, from what you can remember, of course.”

“Certainly,” Dáin licked his lips anxiously, possibly out of fear for the fate of Aragog. Once he started speaking, Kíli knew he was downplaying the vicious beast’s part in the matter. He had to give Dáin credit. He had managed to make the Acromantula sound like a fluffy dog who had been incited into attacking someone most reluctantly.

“So as you can see, it’s not really Aragog’s fault,” Dáin said pleadingly. “He’s been living in the Forest for years and has never hurt anyone from Hogwarts. He wouldn’t have done it had he not been provoked and tempted by some blasted House Elf.”

“Right,” Saruman looked less convinced this time but he did not point out the obvious. Instead, he turned to Kíli finally. “Now, you are Kíli Durin, I presume.”

“Yes, sir,” Kíli said nervously. He had not been able to read Saruman so far, which left him feeling unsure and slightly concerned. Would Saruman believe him as his professors did? The Minister knew nothing about him after all.

“The son of Frerin Durin and his wife, who grew up in a Muggle orphanage after they died?”

“Yes, sir.” It might be Kíli’s imagination but he thought the crease between Saruman’s eyebrows had deepened very subtly. Bolg, on the other hand, perked up.

“Very well,” Saruman hesitated before withdrawing a small vial of clear liquid from his pocket, “I would like to hear your testimony if you’re willing to do it under the Veritaseum.”

Fíli was the first one to stand up. “Why does Kíli have to take Veritaseum? You didn’t ask any of us to take it!”

“Fíli!” Thorin’s low warning voice was not enough to back Fíli down. Dwalin’s fervent nodding did not help matters either. Saruman, however, raised his hand to stop any other further dissent. “I have my reasons, of course. Your testimony,” he nodded towards Fíli and Bilbo, “while insightful, offered very little information on the identity of the true culprit. They’re, therefore, not an accusation, except perhaps against Aragog. Mister Durin, on the other hand, is about to make some serious allegations against what he believes is the mastermind behind the attack. Unless there is some more than circumstantial evidence, his testament will be the key evidence we rely on. I must thus treat it with extra care to ensure that it’s honest and not biased.”

Before Fíli could protest any further, Kíli spoke up, “I understand your concern, Minister. I am perfectly willing to take the potion to prove that I’m not lying.” He shot Bolg a defiant look. “I’ve got nothing to hide.”

“Brilliant!” Kíli’s cooperation had finally put a smile on Saruman’s face. He handed the vial over to Kíli, who downed it in one go. A minute later, he experienced that similar feeling of words gushing out. Without any prompt from Saruman, Kíli started telling his story, from the very beginning of the school year, detailing every encounter he had had with Bloody and how he worked out that the House Elf was the one doing all the work that everyone else deemed impossible. Had he not taken the potion, Kíli would have left some of the information out but he had no choice. It took him nearly an hour to finish everything, which left him feeling utterly drained.

Once he was done, the room was silent. Saruman leaned back into his chair, his hands steepled and his eyes fixed on Kíli. Bolg, on the other hand, snarled at Kíli, his face red and teeth bared. If looks could kill, Kíli was sure he would have been dead many times over. Bloody, however, turned so pale that he looked ready to pass out.

“Thank you for your detailed explanation,” Saruman finally spoke. His face was carefully neutral so Kíli had no idea whether he had done a good job or not. Feeling nervous, he chanced a look at Gandalf, which proved a mistake. His headmaster remained stoic but his look did not escape Saruman’s notice, whose face hardened instantly. “Now, we ought to hear the other side of the story. Mister Gundabad, if you would like to speak in your defence.”

“It’s obvious, isn’t it?” Bolg piped up before his father could stop him. “This dirty little scum is framing us. The map he uses is obviously faulty.”

“Bolg!” Azog gave his son a threatening look that silenced Bolg almost immediately. He looked a lot more collected than his son. “Please forgive my son’s outburst, Minister. He’s still young and does not take lightly to being,” he chose his words carefully, “erroneously accused of crimes that he did not commit. I understand why Mister Durin might be under the impression that my son is somehow involved because of their fraught past. But I can assure you that my son is certainly not to blame. The last incident that my son was involved in was an accident. Bolg would never deliberately put any of his fellow students, let alone an esteemed teacher of Hogwarts, in danger.”

“Are ya accusing Kíli of lying then?” Dwalin piped up immediately. Putting a restraining hand on Dwalin’s arm, Thorin turned to Azog, his eyes bright with cold anger at the Half-Orc’s unperturbed demeanour. “May I remind you, Mister Gundabad, that Kíli is under the Veritaseum and he’s only a third year. Surely you’re not suggesting that he’s managed to fight it off.”

“I’m not questioning the sincerity of Kíli’s testimony at all,” Azog replied tactfully. “I’m sure that his intentions are honourable, stemming from only his concern for his friend and teacher. With the Veritaseum, I have no reason to doubt that he’s telling the truth, or rather what he believes is the truth. But as far as I can tell, all his encounters with my House Elf have been under perfectly legal circumstances. I understand that Bloody is not a Hogwarts House Elf and therefore not supposed to be inside the castle. But I must admit to spoiling my son in that I want him to be looked after by our own House Elf to ensure his maximum comfort. I will make sure that this never happens again and he enjoys no special privileges from now on. This, however, is hardly a criminal offence.”

“What about what Kíli saw during the attack then?” Dwalin pressed on. “Surely that is suspicious. Bloody is there at the attack.”

Surprisingly, Azog still did not lose his composure even when he was under this multitude of attacks. “Ah yes. Mister Durin believes that he saw Bloody in the forest. Quite a feat in such stressful a situation, not to mention under the dimming light. Unless I’m very much mistaken, he was already convinced that Bloody is the one responsible before he had arrived in the clearing. Suggestions are indeed very powerful and we all know who tricky human perception works, especially in that kind of circumstances. Again, I’m not saying that Mister Durin is lying about what he believes he’s seen. All I’m saying is that his memory and perception may not be 100% accurate given the situation.”

“I know what I saw!” Kíli cried, his face hot with anger. “I saw Bloody! I’m sure of it! How dare you question my judgement.”

When Kíli caught the look on Fíli’s face, it was too late. His outburst turned out to be a bad idea, for Saruman was frowning while Azog smirked. “I admire your passion, Mister Durin. I’m only pointing out that such passion might sometimes cloud your judgement. Given that the only concrete evidence you have is from a map from an unknown and highly questionable origin, I must, therefore, question the magical accuracy of the map.”

Before anyone could challenge Azog, Saruman spoke up first. “Your point is fair, Mister Gundabad, and well taken. We should examine the map before we use it to convict a potentially innocent House Elf.” He turned to Kíli, “Mister Durin, if you don’t mind, please allow me to inspect the map.”

Left with no choice, Kíli reluctantly handed the map over. He did not know how this would go at all. Azog seemed rather in control of the situation while the Minister did not appear sympathetic enough. He just hoped that Saruman would be fair in his examination of the map. His concern must be written all over his face, for Saruman pursed his lips and gave him an unimpressed look when he took the map from Kíli’s hand.

With a wave of his wand, Saruman started performing spells after spells on the map wordlessly. It did not take a genius to realise that the Minister was very skilled in his spell casting if the ease and natural flow of magic was anything to go by. Kíli watched in fascination as the parchment of the map glowed and dimmed, floating in the air. After a good 10 minutes, Saruman finally set the map down on the table. “I have performed every single spell I know and I must admit, the creator of the map is ingenious. It uses a modified version of the Homonculous Charm, which is a very advanced spell in its own right, to track every single witch and wizard within the castle, living or dead. Furthermore, it cleverly includes some magical beings like House Elves who are not exactly wizards while excluding other magical beings such as those creatures in the Forbidden Forest. It’s an incredible piece of magical artefact and it certainly works.”

Kíli could not help but smirk triumphantly at Azog and Bolg. While Azog still looked unperturbed, Kíli could tell that his mind was working furiously to find the next loophole to exploit. Bolg, on the other hand, looked positively furious. It was only his father’s stern look that stopped him from doing something stupid. It was quite a pity. Kíli was hoping that Bolg would lose control and say something incriminating.

“So what says yeh now, Azog?” Dwalin could barely hide his broad smile. “The Minister has proved the map’s magic and Kíli’s testimony is under Veritaseum. Are yeh going to admit that yer House Elf was indeed in the Forbidden Forest when the attack took place?”

“What about the creature you saw at the edge of the forest?” asked Azog, though this time with a faint air of clutching on straws.

“It was at the edge of the forest,” Kíli replied with confidence. “I’m sure he is not a House Elf so unless he can Apparate within the school grounds too, there’s no way he can get that deep inside the Forest in time to provoke Aragog and disappear into thin air afterwards.”

Before Azog could argue, Saruman intervened. “There are no other known magical beings who can Apparate and Disapparate inside Hogwarts. The House Elf exception was specially created to allow House Elves to perform their duties within the castle.” He turned to Azog, “I must therefore conclude, Mister Gundabad, that your House Elf was indeed at the scene of the crime and therefore our most likely suspect. Do you mind if we question him?”

The look on Bloody’s face was beyond miserable. Lips trembling, he looked at Azog with tears in his big eyes that Kíli truly felt bad for the little House Elf. Azog, however, did not seem to share the same sentiment. Turning to his House Elf, he spoke in a stern and somewhat threatening tone, “Bloody, the Minister for Magic is going to question you on  _ your _ possible involvement in the attack on Professor Bilbo and Mister Arken. I order you to answer him truthfully about any role  _ you _ have played in this.”

From the corner of his eye, Kíli could see Thorin and Dwalin exchanging a quick look. But his attention quickly returned to Bloody and Saruman, who started questioning the House Elf immediately.

“Bloody, you understand that your master has ordered you to tell the truth about your involvement, don’t you? You are magically bound to obey your master.”

“Yes, Minister,” Bloody replied in a small squeaky voice.

Saruman nodded with satisfaction. “Excellent. I’ll get straight to the point then. Were you in the Forbidden Forest when Processor Bilbo and Fíli Arken were attacked by Aragog the Acromantula?”

His eyes downcast, Bloody said, “Yes, Minister.”

Saruman pressed on relentlessly. “Were you the one who incited Aragog to attack Professor Bilbo and Fíli Arken?”

Bloody wrung his hands helplessly but there was no avoiding the question. “Yes, Minister.”

Kíli felt like jumping straight into the air while yelling ‘Yes’ at the top of his lungs. Finally, his theory was confirmed! Bloody was the one who did all this. His excitement might be too blatantly obvious that Saruman gave him a reproachful look. Kíli did not care. He was finally close to the truth that he had to ask. “Did Bolg or Azog ask you to attack Fíli?”

“No, mister,” Bloody shook his head so violently that Kíli feared he might break his neck. “Bloody do it himself.”

“But surely you did it under your master’s command!” Kíli cried loudly. This made no sense. Why would Bloody want to attack Fíli? He barely knew him!

“No, mister.” Bloody denied firmly. “Bloody being a bad House Elf. Bloody do bad things!”

“Come on, Bloody, there’s no point covering for your masters. Tell us the truth! Your masters asked you to curse the Snitch I caught! Your masters asked you to put the Niffler in Professor Thorin’s office and steal from him! Your masters gave you the cursed necklace for Fíli’s Christmas present! Your masters wanted to poison Fíli and asked you to poison the mug when we were at the Three Broomsticks, which led to Ori’s hospitalisation.” Bloody shook his head wildly but Kíli could not stop. He was convinced that he was right. “All of this is Azog’s and Bolg’s doing! They’ve wanted to kill Fíli and me for ages and all these are part of their murderous plan!”

“Minister, I really must protest!” Azog stood from his chair and exclaimed, though Kíli did not believe his innocent indignation for one second. “I have ordered my House Elf to tell the truth, which he has done. Meanwhile, Mister Durin keeps questioning his words. It seems that Mister Durin has a very strong bias against myself and my son and believes that everything that is remotely wrong, from his friend’s unfortunate accident to the loss of the England National Quidditch team, is our fault!”

Kíli opened his mouth to retort back but Saruman cut him off. “This is enough, Mister Durin. You are not the judge here. I am. Mister Gundabad has made it abundantly clear that his House Elf must answer truthfully so unless you can prove that he is not, I suggest you remain silent during the proceedings.”

A forceful tug on his sleeve made Kíli look around. Even though he could not see clearly, with his eyes welled up and everything, he could feel Fíli, willing him to remain calm.

“Now,” Saruman turned to Azog, “I must apologise for losing control of the situation while putting you and your son under added stress. I am sure that you must be shocked and appalled at your House Elf’s behaviour.”

Clearly better adapted at hiding his emotions, Azog’s face remained mockingly sombre. “Indeed we are. I have never imagined that my House Elf would perform such a heinous act against a Hogwarts student and professor. I understand Mister Durin’s feelings since his friends have been through a lot this year.” He shook his head with such fake regret that Kíli wanted nothing more than to punch his ugly face. “ But I must assure you that we have nothing to do with those unfortunate events. In fact, I doubt that my House Elf is responsible for all of them. For one thing, he has never been to the Three Broomsticks. My instruction to him is clear, go to Hogwarts and come straight home. Whatever his fault, Bloody obeys my orders. If only I had forbidden him to hurt anyone in the castle!”

“Is it true?” asked Saruman, his eyes on Bloody. “Have you disobeyed your master’s orders and gone to Hogsmeade?”

Bloody shook his head. “No, Minister. Bloody do what master ask. Bloody never disobey.”

“Very well,” Saruman nodded with grim satisfaction, “I believe I have a good grasp of the situation here. Bloody the House Elf was sent to the castle to look after his young master. But while he was not allowed to go outside the castle, his master failed to control his savage behaviour inside the castle. When the opportunity presented itself, Bloody seized it and launched an attack on Professor Bilbo and Mister Arken.”

“For that, I am extremely sorry,” Azog’s timing was perfect, “I have failed my duty as a responsible owner. I will leave the punishment of the House Elf to you, sir, and the Ministry. Moreover, I am willing to pay for any physical and psychological trauma caused by my House Elf.”

“Thank you, Mister Gundabad,” said Saruman, looking pleased. “I appreciate your cooperation with us. I will take the House Elf to the Ministry so he can be tried by the Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures. Mister Gundabad, you will receive a 500 gallon fine in addition to any medical expenses Professor Bilbo and Mister Arken incur due to the attack.”

“Excuse me, sir,” Dwalin finally intervened, possibly because he saw that Kíli was on the verge of explosion. “But I fail to find the motivation of the House Elf’s attack. He does not know Fíli or even Professor Bilbo. Why would he attack them while risking his own life by engaging an Acromantula? It does not make sense.”

Folding his arms in front of his chest, the corner of Saruman’s mouth tightened contemptuously. “House Elves are not wizards, Professor Dwalin. I’m afraid you give them too much credit. Their brain is feeble and their character weak. When they’re under their master’s control, few cause problems. But once outside, they simply do not possess the mental faculties to tell what is right and what is wrong. I’m not surprised at all that some perform deviant acts against fellow wizards for no reason at all.”

“That may be so, Minister.” Thorin had finally spoken up. Kíli was surprised that he had remained silent until this point. “But I would like to clear some doubt with the young Mister Gundabad if that is okay with you.”

With a curt nod of his head, Saruman motioned Thorin to continue.

“You claim that you have no prior knowledge of Bloody’s action nor are you involved in any way. I must ask then how it is possible that you knew who the victim was before we even informed you.” Thorin turned to the audience. “When Professor Dáin told Mister Gundabad and his son that there was an accident in the Forbidden Forest, the young Mister Gundabad said, and I quote, ‘So we’ve finally got rid of the jumped-up Fíli Arken?’”

With every pair of eyes fixed on Bolg, the usually smirking Slytherin looked, for the first time, like a deer in the headlights.

“Is it true, Mister Gundabad?” Saruman was frowning deeply now.

“I am very sorry, Minister.” Azog intervened as he stepped in front of his spluttering son. “My son has indeed harboured some ill feelings towards Mister Arken. They’re simply petty school rivalries, however.”

“Petty school rivalries that make him want Fíli dead?” glowered Dwalin.

“I’m afraid to admit that my son is not the brightest wizard of his age.” Azog sighed as if this admission caused him real pain. “As much as I dread it, his school marks don’t lie. He simply does not realise that getting rid of someone usually has more severe consequences than that said someone not coming to school.”

Dwalin snorted. “This is low, even for ya, Azog. Yer son may not be the top of his class but he’s no idiot. We all know it.”

“Moreover,” Thorin pressed on relentlessly before Azog could answer, “how does he know it was Fíli?”

“He saw Mister Arken walking to the Forbidden Forest with Professor Bilbo earlier that day,” Azog answered without hesitation or pause. “Again, my son’s limited intelligence means that he tends to jump to conclusions. He, therefore, assumed that they were the only ones in the Forest and thus the victims.” He turned to Saruman, “I apologise for my son’s inappropriate behaviour in the face of such a tragic event but that does not make him a murderer. You have heard my House Elf’s testimony. My son is not involved, Minister.”

Saruman nodded. “I see your point, Mister Gundabad, and I must agree with you. This one sentence in itself is not enough to link your son to the attack, especially given your House Elf’s testimony. I trust that you will, however, work on your son’s attitude issues.”

“Of course,” Azog bowed his head obediently. “I will make it my top priority.”

“Excellent!” Saruman addressed the crowd in an authoritative tone. “My verdict on the case thus still stands. I will take my leave now and the House Elf will come with me. Once we reach a decision regarding his fate, you will be informed. Rest assured that his punishment will be severe.”

Had it not been Fíli’s death grip on his arm, Kíli did not know what he would have done. He simply could not understand why nobody, especially Gandalf, would speak up to stop this absolute atrocity against justice. They were letting the true culprits go while sacrificing a poor House Elf who could not fend for himself due to his magical restraints. Yet nobody raised any objections as they witnessed Saruman dragging a bawling Bloody out of the room.

It was only when Saruman was out of the room that Azog let his dignified yet rueful facade drop. Smirking triumphantly, he motioned his son over to leave too. Bolg looked every bit as gleeful as his father. The triumphant sneer on his ugly face made Kili feel physically sick. Rising from his seat and striding towards Kili, Bolg opened his mouth, ready to gloat, only to be stopped by his father. Azog, it seemed, had learnt his lesson. “Come on, Bolg, we’re leaving.” He turned to face Fili with a fake smile. “I do hope you make a full recovery, Fíli Arken. Careful not to run into any more rogue House Elves. You may not be so lucky next time.


	16. Chapter 16

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Not everything always goes to plan. The year is coming to an end and Kíli found it hard to say goodbye.

“Why did you let them do that?!” Kíli could not hold it any longer once Azog and Bolg were out of the room. “They made Bloody a scapegoat and they’re getting away with it! Why doesn’t anyone stop them?”

Gandalf sat down heavily on his chair and sighed. “Because we have no further proof against Bloody’s words. Everybody knows that House Elves can’t disobey their masters. Even in the rare cases where they do, they are magically bound to punish themselves most severely. As you can see, Bloody is doing none of that. He must be telling the truth.”

“But it makes no sense! Why on earth would Bloody want to hurt Fíli? There must be another explanation.”

“I understand how you feel,” Gandalf looked sympathetic. “But unless we can find an alternative explanation, we cannot simply go against the Minister’s word.”

“Arguing with the Minister, who is most likely biased whether he likes to admit it or not, will only alienate us from his good opinion further,” explained Thorin, still frowning. “That’s why the Headmaster remained silent. I did not speak up for the same reason. I am naturally biased as Fíli’s uncle. Anything I say holds little weight in this particular situation.”

Politics again, Kíli thought angrily. Why people as great as Gandalf and Thorin would allow it to stand in the way of justice was simply beyond him.

“How did you manage to get Bloody into the castle?” Fíli asked Thorin and Dáin. “Did Bolg give himself away?”

“Sort of,” answered Thorin, “Dáin went to the corridor outside Azog’s quarter with his Occamy.”

“Blue is fantastic!” Dáin beamed with pride. Trust Dáin to give a dangerous magical creature a pet name. “The moment I set him on the floor, he ran straight into Azog’s quarter. It was easy for me to get in afterwards and what’s more, with all the chaos going on, it was easy for me to cast a little spell to alert me if Bloody shows up.”

“Bolg and Azog didn’t get suspicious?” Kíli thought Azog would be more vigilant than that.

“I think I acted my part as a flustered gormless professor well.” The smile on Dáin’s face could not be more self-satisfied and smug. “I apologised profusely, of course, and told them that I slipped in my haste to find the Headmaster because there had been a terrible accident in the Forbidden Forest involving a student and a professor.”

“And that’s when Bolg spoke his mind,” said Fíli and Kíli knew he must be right.

“Yes,” nodded Thorin with grim satisfaction, “Azog did not rise to the bait but fortunately Bolg is not as shrewd as his father. I arrived just in time to catch him saying that. But I did not call him out. I didn’t want to spook him just yet. So I just pretended that I was looking for Dáin.”

“Thorin was so convincing there,” Dáin nodded enthusiastically. “He looked just like his usual self, calm and in control. When he said that Aragog told Dwalin, who was sent to the Forest as reinforcement, that he knew who the attacker was but he would only talk to me, Azog and Bolg bought it immediately.”

“We did not linger after that.” Thorin’s countenance barely changed at Dáin’s glowing compliment. Perhaps he was used to such respect and admiration from his fellow Dwarves or he was just raised to not display emotions in public. Kíli could never figure out which. All he knew was that he could never achieve that level of composure. “We wanted to give them time to talk amongst themselves and panic. And surely they did. We stayed outside Azog’s quarter and we didn’t need to wait for more than a minute when Dáin’s alert charm flared up.”

“They have summoned Bloody to question him about what he had told Aragog.” Realisation dawned on Fíli’s face.

“Quite,” nodded Thorin. “Since we couldn’t hear anything, we had to break in. The only bit we caught Bloody saying was that he was in the Forest. Even though it was not enough to convict Bloody let alone Bolg and Azog, it allowed us to bring Bloody into Gandalf’s office for questioning.”

So now Kíli understood the whole story. It only infuriated him more, however, for all the circumstances pointed to his conclusion: Azog and Bolg were the true masterminds behind all those attacks. Why would they summon Bloody otherwise then?

“We have no evidence though,” said Gandalf softly as if reading Kíli’s mind. “So no matter how suspicious the circumstances are, we have to assume that Bolg and Azog are not involved. Innocent until proven guilty, remember?”

“Even if that means letting the guilty go free?” asked Kíli defiantly.

Gandalf smiled serenely. “The guilty never go free. Their lawless ways will catch up with them in the end. It is, however, better to err on the side of caution. Would you rather incriminate an innocent and take their lives away?”

Kíli opened his mouth but nothing came out. He could not imagine the opposite extreme where the innocents did not have the chance to defend themselves. He did not want Bolg and Azog to walk away without being punished either.

“One day yeh will understand,” Dwalin patted Kíli on the back. “Life is complicated and never black and white. It’s all about compromises to get the best out of a difficult situation.”

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The rest of the school year went by without incident. Perhaps learning from his narrow escape, Bolg had refrained from any further attacks on Fíli or Kíli. Few others in the school except those very close to Fíli and Kíli such as Gimli knew of the attack. Even though Kíli was not above spreading some words about Bolg’s possible involvement, Fíli advised him otherwise.

“We have no proof and Azog is still on the school board,” said Fíli seriously. “If you go spreading rumour, yes,” he raised his voice slightly at the indignant look on Kíli’s face, “they’re rumours because Bolg was found innocent, Azog has every reason to punish you for besmirching his son’s name.”

So despite the end of exams, which would normally fill Kíli with a great sense of relief and joy, Kíli found it hard to enjoy himself. The only thing that managed to cheer him up was the news of Ori.

“He has just regained consciousness after Mister Oín gave him the antidote,” said Fíli as they rushed to the Hospital Wing. “Uncle has finally worked out the antidote and it has worked!”

“Thank goodness!” If there was one thing that Kíli wished more than anything else, more than even proving that Bolg was the true culprit, it was for Ori to be alright. His bookworm friend was completely innocent, who only got involved because he was their friend. Kíli felt almost personally responsible for what had happened to Ori.

Kíli was not surprised to see Thorin in the Hospital Wing, most likely to monitor Ori’s progress after the administration of the antidote. To Kíli’s great relief, his friend looked surprisingly well for someone who had been in a coma for quite some time. Even though he still looked a bit pale, Ori was sitting up against the fluffy pillows while demolishing a heavily-laden plate of food. Kíli could hardly blame him. He must be starving after such a long time.

When Ori caught a glimpse of them, his face lit up. “Fíli! Kíli! Gimli! How have you been? It’s been so long!”

Gimli roared in laughter. “You don’t say, mate. It’s indeed been quite a while. You look well for someone who just came back from the dead.”

Ori beamed, “It’s good to be back, thanks to Professor Thorin and Mister Oín!”

“You’re lucky to be back, laddie.” Mister Oín had just come out of his office with several vials in his hand. “Had it not been Professor Thorin’s antidote, you’d be out indefinitely. The poison you have ingested is nasty and a rare one to boot.”

“Thank you so much, professor.” Kíli meant every word of that. He simply could not imagine what the alternative would be.

Thorin nodded almost imperceptibly, his face stiffly blank. “It’s part of my job so no need to thank me. I’m pleased to see that the antidote has worked so well. There seem to be no lingering effects from the poison.”

The relationship between Thorin and Kíli was still complicated if Kíli was going to be completely honest. The animosity Thorin felt towards him had certainly died down after he had saved Fíli’s life and their subsequent reconciliation. Kíli did not know what Fíli had told his uncle but now he felt that the awkward relationship between him and Thorin could at least be partially contributed to the guilt Thorin felt over his past attitude towards Kíli. Since Thorin was never someone who knew how to deal with such emotions as he was too proud to admit himself wrong, Kíli found it almost endearing that Thorin was trying to make sense of the situation.

“How are you feeling?” Fíli asked as he sat down in the chair next to Ori’s bed, his eyes fixed on the Ravenclaw as if trying to decipher if there was anything wrong with him. If there was anyone who felt more responsible for the situation, it was Fíli.

Ori laughed. “I’m fine, Fíli, honestly. A bit knackered which is weird considering I’ve done nothing but sleep in the last month. Awfully hungry too but what’s new here?”

“I thought you’d be more miffed that you’ve missed all your exams.” Gimli teased with a smirk until he saw the shocked expression on Ori’s face. “Blimey, you didn’t know?” He roared with laughter again. “You really are gutted that you’ve missed them, aren’t you? Bloody hell!”

“I just don’t want a whole year of work to go to waste!” Ori protested indignantly. This was so typically Ori that Kíli could not help but grin. Even Thorin’s lips threatened to curve up but he fought that urge successfully. “No need to worry, Ori. I’ll speak to the Headmaster so we can arrange a makeup exam for you whenever you’re ready.”

Once Thorin was satisfied with Ori’s recovery, he excused himself swiftly. Ori was soon left at the company of Kíli, Fíli, and Gimli. Kíli was therefore not surprised when Ori brought up the topic of his poisoning. “So, what exactly happened at the Three Broomsticks?”

Kíli exchanged a quick look with Fíli and Gimli. “Well, that’s a bit of a long story.”

\------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The End of the Year feast came sooner than Kíli had anticipated. With such a hectic and emotionally trying year behind him, Kíli did not feel ready to leave the castle just yet. But time waits for no wizard and Kíli had no choice but to drag himself to the Great Hall for his last meal before he departed for the summer the next day.

For the first time in years, the Great Hall was covered in gold and red. Thanks largely to their spectacular Quidditch performances, Gryffindor had managed to clinch the House Cup from Ravenclaw by a minuscule margin. Kíli was, therefore, not surprised to see a particularly sour-looking Ravenclaw table. Lindir glared and bared his teeth when Kíli waved friendly at them. It did not have quite the same threatening effect on his handsome face as when Bolg did it. Fíli and Ori, on the other hand, beamed at him and waved back.

“I can’t believe this is the end,” Aragorn said with a badly-concealed longing in his voice. Both he and Arwen had finished their N.E.W.T.s and were waiting anxiously for their results. Unless Kíli was very much mistaken, he was sure that both would get the results they wanted for their future careers.

“We’re going to miss you so much,” said Tauriel, who had just settled herself next to Aragorn, placing her directly in front of Kíli. When she caught Kíli’s eyes, she smiled warmly, something that had not happened since their disastrous kiss after the Quidditch match. Feeling both nervous and hopeful, Kíli returned it with a shy tentative smile.

“I’m going to miss you too,” Aragorn sighed and looked around the Great Hall one more time as if trying to memorise every single detail. “It’s so strange saying goodbye. The castle has been my home for 7 years.”

“Well, on the bright side, at least you don’t have to sneak into the Ravenclaw Tower to see Arwen again,” Tauriel smirked. “Or fight with her about Quidditch.”

“Oh, we’ll always fight about Quidditch,” Aragorn laughed. “Once a Gryffindor, always a Gryffindor, remember?”

When Kíli cast his eyes around the Gryffindor table, he could see emotions running high. Oliver was talking loudly to those next to him about Quidditch, apparently intending to pass on all his knowledge and secrets before he left. Even the evil twins were eyeing the Great Hall with long lingering looks. Perhaps it had always been like that every year. This was the first time that Kíli had to say goodbye to some of his friends though and it felt so much more intense experiencing it firsthand. When he caught Tauriel’s eyes, however, she smiled, clearly reading his mind. And all of a sudden, everything felt less despondent. It might be the end of some journeys, but Kíli was sure it would be the beginning of others.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I can't believe that it's the end of another year. My babies are growing up lol. Things will get more interesting next year (at least I hope so :)


End file.
